Terahertz Radiation Increases Genomic Instability in Human Lymphocytes
From
the abstract: Continuous-wave (CW) 0.1 THz radiation (0.031 mW/ cm2)
was applied to dividing lymphocytes for 1, 2 and 24 h and examined
the changes in chromosome number of chromosomes 1, 10, 11 and 17 and
changes in the replication timing of their centromeres using
interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The authors
observed changes in the asynchronous mode of replication of
centromeres 11, 17 and 1 (by 40%) after 2 h of exposure and of all
four centromeres after 24 h of exposure (by 50%). It is speculated
that these effects are caused by radiation-induced low-frequency
collective vibrational modes of proteins and DNA. Bibliography:
Korenstein-Ilana et al., Radiation Researach, Volume 170, Issue 2
(August 2008) pp. 224–234, Abstract