New airport scanners damage DNA
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- Jammydodger
- added this
With the recent attempt at taking down a passenger aircraft, the USA and UK have vowed to step up security, but at what cost? The new full body scanners which use the THz fields could be causing damage to our DNA.
"Alexandrov and co have created a model to investigate how THz fields interact with double-stranded DNA and what they’ve found is remarkable. They say that although the forces generated are tiny, resonant effects allow THz waves to unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication. That’s a jaw dropping conclusion.
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But a new generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is safe. "
Still feel safe?
See the full story here - http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/
"Alexandrov and co have created a model to investigate how THz fields interact with double-stranded DNA and what they’ve found is remarkable. They say that although the forces generated are tiny, resonant effects allow THz waves to unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication. That’s a jaw dropping conclusion.
...
But a new generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is safe. "
Still feel safe?
See the full story here - http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/
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- groups:
- Community
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- tags:
- DNA, Airport Security, Scanners
