Doss Report #2: The Deadly DNA Damage
(A simpler, easier to understand version of Doss Report # 1 at http://dossreport.blogspot.com )
After seeing how Stephen Colbert became very popular when he started supporting his opposition’s conservative ideas, I have started supporting the idea that even the smallest amount of radiation is dangerous to our health, though it is contrary to my belief. So here is my second Doss Report (pronounced as Duh Repor). This report is in simpler language than the first Doss Report #1 which was written in scientific mumbo-jumbo, but it covers the same subject matter.
With my changed view about low-dose radiation, the recent report by EPA to guide us in using X-rays safely makes a lot of sense. You can see the report at http://www.epa.gov/radiation/federal/fgr-14.html. (Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional X-Ray Procedures) The justification for this report is given clearly in the Preface, where it says radiation (for example from a CT scan) can cause DNA damage and increase the risk of cancer. Then it goes on to say in lines 74-76 of the Preface: “Although the risk to an individual from a single exam may not itself be large, millions of exams are performed each year, making radiation exposure from medical imaging an important public health issue". Due to this type of concerns, they produced this impressive comprehensive document, to guide the hospitals to use as little radiation as possible when doing CT scans. Because they have done a heck of a job, I would like to suggest EPA should consider guiding us in some other areas where DNA damage is happening according to recent publications by scientists. So, avoiding DNA damage from CT scans is not enough, because we all know DNA damage causes many deadly diseases like cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.
The first area of concern is exercise, because of what is described in the paper available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
The second area of concern is learning. Scientists have recently reported that during learning (in a mouse experiment), a more deadly type of DNA damage called Double Strand Break happens. You can read all about it at: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v16/n5/full/nn.3356.html
Though the scientists said the Double Strand Breaks were temporary, we know our body cannot repair that type of damage perfectly (I remember the radiation experts saying this), and so some of these damages are going to remain in the brain, probably causing Alzheimer’s disease. So it is worrying me about all the learning that goes on in the schools and colleges nowadays, some of which are admitting elderly students also, and the free lessons given online by Ivy League schools, Khan Academy, etc. which have become very popular, probably causing a lot of DNA damage in the students that are learning. So I am tempted to announce: Although the amount of DNA Double Strand Breaks from a single learning session may not be large, millions of students are learning in schools, colleges, and on the Internet everyday, making the Double Strand Breaks from learning an important public health issue. We should ask the surgeon-general to announce that learning is dangerous to the functioning of the brain, especially in elderly, and this warning should be required to be posted in all the schools, colleges, and learning websites, and in all of their advertisements and brochures. Because our constitution guarantees we can think freely, and we cannot ban thinking even if it is dangerous to our brain until we amend the constitution, the government should make public service announcements to discourage deep thinking and government should encourage thoughtless actions. The aim should be to think as little as is needed.
Though the scientists said the Double Strand Breaks were temporary, we know our body cannot repair that type of damage perfectly (I remember the radiation experts saying this), and so some of these damages are going to remain in the brain, probably causing Alzheimer’s disease. So it is worrying me about all the learning that goes on in the schools and colleges nowadays, some of which are admitting elderly students also, and the free lessons given online by Ivy League schools, Khan Academy, etc. which have become very popular, probably causing a lot of DNA damage in the students that are learning. So I am tempted to announce: Although the amount of DNA Double Strand Breaks from a single learning session may not be large, millions of students are learning in schools, colleges, and on the Internet everyday, making the Double Strand Breaks from learning an important public health issue. We should ask the surgeon-general to announce that learning is dangerous to the functioning of the brain, especially in elderly, and this warning should be required to be posted in all the schools, colleges, and learning websites, and in all of their advertisements and brochures. Because our constitution guarantees we can think freely, and we cannot ban thinking even if it is dangerous to our brain until we amend the constitution, the government should make public service announcements to discourage deep thinking and government should encourage thoughtless actions. The aim should be to think as little as is needed.
Because of these worries about the DNA damage, please join me in asking the EPA: Please think hard about what we have written here, and take the recommended actions. On light second thought (I am being careful now as you can see, with light thinking), because of the DNA Damage in the brain from such hard thinking, please think little about the above ideas, and implement these suggestions thoughtlessly, setting an example for the public. Hope you don't mind me writing this thoughtless e-mail to you, but I am interested in preserving my brain health and also in helping others to do the same.
Sincerely,
Duh
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Take-home Message from Doss Report # 2:
You all probably know that regular exercise reduces the chance of having cancer. There is plenty of evidence for this. You all probably also know that regular thinking activities like playing bridge or solving puzzles reduces the chance of having Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly. Why did we come to completely opposite, incorrect and unhealthy conclusions in the thoughtless discussions above in “Doss Report #2 – The Deadly DNA Damage?” Well, the discussion ignored one key aspect of our body, i.e. that we are alive, and so our body responds to any damage it notices, for example DNA damage. The body may produce more DNA repair enzymes, higher amounts of immune system response, and so on. Because these defenses remain at a higher level for many hours or days, there would be less damage to the body during this time period when compared to the natural damage that would have occurred if the defenses were not higher. What is the final outcome? Even though activities like exercise and brain activities cause some DNA damage, the net result over the long period of time is that there is much less DNA damage because of the higher defenses, and so there is improved health.
Now, let us think about small amounts of radiation. The effect of a small amount of radiation is to cause a small amount of DNA (and other) damage, but that damage increases the defenses in the body just like exercise and brain activity do. As a result, low dose radiation can be good for our health, and can result in fewer cancers, and can also reduce many of the diseases we tend to get as we grow older, including Alzheimer’s disease. This good effect of small amounts of radiation is called radiation hormesis, and was proposed more than thirty years ago by Prof T D Luckey in his book, ‘Hormesis with Ionizing Radiation’, after reviewing over a thousand papers. There is plenty of evidence in animal studies for reduction of many diseases including cancers and brain diseases using low dose radiation, but the current superstitious idea that low dose radiation is dangerous has prevented study of these ideas in clinical trials to see if they work. I am hoping that at least some of you among the public who have read the above become convinced that a small amount of DNA damage is not something to be scared of, as it can have beneficial effects, as seen for exercise and for brain activity.
Please let me know if I have made sense to you, by taking the short survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Mohan Doss, Ph.D., MCCPMMedical Physicist
E-mail: mohandoss99@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/DossReport
Copyright Ó 2013 - Mohan Doss
