The suffering gene : environmental threats to our health / Roy Burdon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burdon, R. H. (Roy Hunter)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Genetic toxicology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal [Que.] : McGill-Queen's University Press ; Cape Town [South Africa] : David Philip ; London [Eng.] ; New York [N.Y.] :

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Cancer kills one in two men and one in three women. Rates are increasing at one percent a year - yet some eighty percent of cancers are likely due to environmental factors that could be reduced or even eradicated. The Suffering Gene details the impact of the modern world on our genes and looks at some of the side effects of the modern technologies that have transformed our lives.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Figures and tables

Acknowledgements

1 Early warning signals

Going to work can be dangerous

All substances can be viewed as poisons

Workplace medicine

An unscheduled experiment

About this book

2 Genes - the targets of hostilities

The book of life

What are genes?

Genes are blueprints for making proteins

What are proteins for?

How are genes decoded?

DNA can be copied

Mutations and their consequences

From egg to adult

Genes and the environment

3 Nuclear attack

Nuclear weapons

Nuclear power

Problems of radiation

What exactly is radioactivity?

Safety from nuclear radiation

How does ionizing radiation damage genes?

Clinical uses of ionizing radiation

4 A phoney war?

Electromagnetic radiation

Possible effects of mobile phone technology on DNA and human health

Power lines and pylons

5 Chemical attack

Some synthetic chemicals can modify DNA

Cytochrome P450s

Bad air

Oxygen can be bad for us

Burning plants

Atmospheric asbestos dust

6 Food attack

Poison on a plate

Not all poisons are put there by man

Spoilage, preservation and cooking

Mycotoxins and human cancer

Nitrites and nitrosamines

Irradiation of food

Cooking

New genes on the menu

7 Enemies from within

What are free radicals?

Free radicals fight infection

Free radicals arise from energy production

How damaging is the free radical assault on DNA?

The natural instability of our DNA

Insertion of genes into human DNA

8 A first line of defence

The role of the ozone layer

Why is the ozone layer thinning?

Chlorofluorocarbons

Sunlight and skin

DNA damage and skin cancer

Indirect consequences of ozone loss

9 The main defence forces

Molecular vacuum cleaners

Many environmental chemicals can be detoxified.

Defence against aldehydes

Keeping free radicals at bay

Antioxidants for further protection

Human diseases and the repair of DNA

How is DNA repaired?

10 What if our defences are overwhelmed?

To die or not to die

Mutation

Mutations and the environment

The problem of cancer

How does cancer develop?

Predisposition to cancer

Cancer progression

Cancers develop over a long timescale

Does mutation contribute to ageing?

11 Can we survive the siege?

Cancer epidemiology

Evaluation of carcinogens

Are we digging our own graves with our knives and forks?

Can radiation be safe?

Can we minimize the risks of cancer from environmental carcinogens?

Is personal risk assessment a possibility?

Fighting cancer with therapeutic drugs that attack DNA

12 Could gene damage redirect our evolution?

Natural selection

Evolution and the environment

Mutation and evolution

Survival and reproductive success

Evolutionary change takes place over immense timescales

Are fears for future generations exaggerated?

13 Genes to take the strain

Stress genes

A catalogue of genes for various contingencies

14 Gene attacks by humans

The great gene robbery

Genetic engineering: progress or evolutionary vandalism?

Gene medicine

A new way of making babies

Designer babies for environmental stress

15 DNA and planetary stewardship

Planetary stewardship

We depend on the diversity of life forms

Is a less toxic future possible?

Microbial genes to the rescue

Can we cure cancer?

Stewardship

References

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Z.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [228]-244) and index.

ISBN:

9780773571662

0773571663

OCLC:

226375504