Alberto
Valdez
Dr.
G
Biology
1610
7
December 2016
Study reveals how Ionizing Radiation damages DNA and causes cancer
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/12/study_reveals_how_ionising_radiation_damages_dna_and_causes_cancer.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+biologynews%2Fheadlines+%28Biology+News+Net%29
Researchers from Wellcome Trust
Sanger Institute and their collaborators were able to find two characteristics
patters of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Dr. Peter Campbell from the
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute lead a study were he tested the DNA from
secondary radiation-associated tumors and patients who had not been exposed to
radiation. Throughout his study they found that there were two mutations found
in all the patients who had been exposed to radiation. One mutation was a
deletion and the other was an inversion. Since these researchers found out that
the abnormality of cell growth is being caused by a DNA mutation there might be
a way to reverse this. This finding will be able to help doctors and
researchers better diagnose the cause of cancer. Not only do I believe that it
can help diagnose cancer caused by radiation but I believe but it is a good
start on finding a cure now that we can “see” where some of the problem is. This
topic really interests me because cancer is always a huge topic in society. I
also really enjoy studying and talking about DNA. I find it amazing how these
doctors and researchers were able to find things in the tiny DNA that will be
able to help a huge population in the world! I find it really interesting that there is researchers still trying to find many ways to help people with cancer. The reason this article catched my eye is because this study in science involves the whole world. This will be able to help many families around the world and can even make other treatments and studies cheaper now that there can be easier ways to find the causes of certain cancers. With technology advancing this study will go further and many other great things will be found.
Hey Alberto! I liked your article and blog post.
ReplyDeleteHow are cancers that are caused by radiation treated? I thought that cancer was treated by radiation so I am wondering the differences between the treatments.
Caitlin McGrath
So, I looked up this article and tried to find some other stuff so I could answer your question. Just based on the last line of the article:
Delete"These mutational signatures could be a diagnosis tool for both individual cases, and for groups of cancers, and could help us find out which cancers are caused by radiation. Once we have better understanding of this, we can study whether they should be treated the same or differently to other cancers." (Professor Adrienne Flanagan)
So it seems like at this time they treat them the same, but that based on this research they want to know if they should be treated differently.
Matt N.
I liked reading this post because cancer is having such a world-wide effect and it has for a long time. I want to know how they are trying to cure patients that have cancer by reversing the genetic mutations caused by radiation?
ReplyDeleteKP
At ScienceDaily.com I found an article that talks about a technique that is being used to correct genetic mutations. The technique is called CRISPR. They cut out the mutated DNA and they replace it with the correct sequence. They have used it to cure liver disease in mice. It is supposed that this technique could help cure genetic diseases. I would suppose that this technique could be a future possibility to help reverse the mutations that have occurred in cancer cells caused by radiation.
DeleteWhat is the difference then between radiation that causes cancer and radiation they use to help treat it? How does one radiation help and another cause it?
ReplyDeleteKI
The answer is nothing at all. The radiation damages the the DNA and as a result causes the cell to "misbehave" and therefore ignores what the body is telling it to do. It is all about the amount of radiation that the cell is exposed to with regard to what happens after being exposed. If the cell is not exposed to enough then the DNA will just continue to be damaged. Too much exposure, however, scrambles the DNA completely causing the cell to die.
DeleteTF
The answer is nothing at all. The radiation damages the the DNA and as a result causes the cell to "misbehave" and therefore ignores what the body is telling it to do. It is all about the amount of radiation that the cell is exposed to with regard to what happens after being exposed. If the cell is not exposed to enough then the DNA will just continue to be damaged. Too much exposure, however, scrambles the DNA completely causing the cell to die.
DeleteTF
I found this very interesting as well and almost wrote my blog post on it too. I also think that it is amazing what modern day technology can do for us. Especially in science. Hopefully this will lead to finding a cure for cancer and also lead to a way of preventing it too.
ReplyDeleteTF
This article is fascinating because it talks about one of the many ways researchers and doctors are looking into mutations in DNA and ways to reverse it. It seems like a viable option to approach cancer from radiation side and trying to cancel its affects on DNA. SRH
ReplyDeleteIn your article you talk about how scientist found a mutation which one was a deletion and the other was an inversion. In a previous article posted by another student they talked about how scientist can now remove mutated DNA from a rat and insert a new non-mutated RNA template. This technique is called CRISPR. Do you think that scientist will use this technique to rid patients of cancer now that they know which genes are mutated?
ReplyDeleteJH
Hi Alberto,
ReplyDeleteInteresting article on the deletion and inversion being the cause of cancer during radiation. You said something about the possibility of it being reversed or fixed since they know the cause. There is another article posted that talks about removing a single gene. The article is posted here https://biol1610-10am.blogspot.com/2016/12/tanner-paskett-9-december-2016-erasing.html?showComment=1481653523706#c7940503171403477372
I added a comment to that that talks about the pressure put on other genes if a gene is removed and how other mutations can occur. Do you think that the researchers are talking about removing genes or repairing the DNA in a different way?
Thanks,
RW