PARTICULATE pollution has been shown to cause irreversible genetic mutations in mice, raising serious concerns about its effect on people.
James Quinn’s team at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, reported two years ago that mice exposed to industrial pollution suffer genetic changes (Â鶹´«Ã½, 14 December 2002, p 8). The researchers found changes in regions of “junk DNA” that are particularly susceptible to mutation. This strongly suggests – but does not prove – that pollution also causes a smaller number of mutations in the rest of the genome, potentially triggering all sorts of diseases, from cancers to inherited disorders in children. The researchers could not…
