The paper abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15143280 "Urban and industrial air pollution can cause elevated heritable mutation rates in birds and rodents. The relative importance of airborne particulate matter versus gas-phase substances in causing these genetic effects under ambient conditions has been unclear. Here we show that high-efficiency particulate-air (HEPA) filtration of ambient air significantly reduced heritable mutation rates at repetitive DNA loci in laboratory mice housed outdoors near a major highway and two integrated steel mills. These findings implicate exposure to airborne particulate matter as a principal factor contributing to elevated mutation rates in sentinel mice and add to accumulating evidence that air pollution may pose genetic risks to humans and wildlife."
For other related abstracts, including the one about the gulls mentioned below, click on the Related Articles on the right side of the screen. Non-technical article: http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/87/99336.htm "...James S. Quinn, PhD, and colleagues previously found that sea gulls near steel mills had higher rates of DNA mutations than gulls in rural areas. They now show that offspring from normal mice housed near steel factories and a busy highway had higher DNA mutation rates than offspring from normal mice housed in a rural area. "What's going on? To find out, Quinn's team installed high-efficiency air filters in the mouse house. When the filters pulled particulate emissions out of the air, the mutation rate dropped in the offspring. The conclusion: Either the particles themselves or something they carry leads to DNA mutations. The findings appear in the May 14 issue of Science. "The probable culprits are compounds called PAHs [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]. Some of these compounds cause genetic changes in humans as well as in mice. Here's the scenario. Tiny PAH-bearing particles fly out of steel-mill smokestacks and car exhaust pipes. They float in the air and are breathed deep into the lungs. From the lungs, the PAHs enter the blood stream. They move throughout the body, eventually finding their way to the reproductive organs. There they cause mutations in the cells from which sperm arise. Finally, a mutant sperm fertilizes an egg -- causing mutations in the next generation. "Of course, mutant offspring is only the latest health problem from air pollution. Dirty air also causes heart disease, lung disease, lung cancer, and developmental damage..." <dry> Of course, even the mention of 'The X-Men' is unwarranted... While the specific types of mutations are in this case just markers, the images conjured up are rather 'ninja mice,' or perhaps Pinky and the Brain... Debbi The Same Thing We Always Do Maru ;) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/
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