5 ms·

Aren't radio and microwaves non-ionizing radiation? Isn't it typically that binary? (that non-ionizing radiation doesn't affect our DNA etc and cause issues).

• arcticbull 3y ago
  Non-ionizing radiation can affect your DNA, for instance UV can cause DNA damage in skin cells. [1] In my opinion this kind of study continues to try and prove a negative, which is very difficult. [1] https://bitesizebio.com/36762/how-uv-light-damages-dna/ https://bitesizebio.com/36762/how-uv-light-damages-dna/
  • atonse 3y ago
    To further complicate things, UV only causes damage at certain wavelengths right? So maybe part of the issue is that "UV" or "Microwave" are too broad as categories to make a statement like "Microwaves are totally safe"
    • jjoonathan 3y ago
      UVA and UVC are separated by 5x. UV and RF are separated by 1000000x.
    • SigmundA 3y ago
      Pretty simple the higher the wavelength the higher the photon energy and the more likely to cause non-thermal effects. Microwaves have very low photon energy far below any mechanism known to cause non-thermal effects. RF can heat you based on power absorption that is all.
  • tasty_freeze 3y ago
    > Non-ionizing radiation can affect your DNA, for instance UV can cause DNA damage in skin cells. But UV is ionizing. The article you linked to says: > UV-B and UV-A rays are two forms of high-energy radiation that ionize (i.e., remove electrons from) molecules in a photochemical reaction that generates new molecular products.
    • deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    • arcticbull 3y ago
      I suppose I was imprecise. UV-A and UV-B are non-ionizing. UV-C is ionizing but it's blocked by the ozone layer almost completely. So when we talk about UV radiation we generally mean A and B, and it is non-ionizing. UV-A and especially UV-B are still capable of inducing DNA damage despite being non-ionizing. Specific mechanisms here. [1]. I didn't catch that in my initial article, but it is wrong on that particular point. From [1]: > UV-A and visible light energy (up to 670–700 nm) are able to generate singlet oxygen (1O2) that can damage DNA via indirect photosensitizing reactions. > UV-B radiation is one of the most important energetic solar components that may lead to the formation of three major classes of DNA lesions, such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), pyrimidine 6-4 pyrimidone photoproducts (6-4PPs), and their Dewar isomers. Anyways, it's an interesting paper. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010660/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010660/
      • adamredwoods 3y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet I wasn't aware of this, so I looked it up. It seems some UV light can be ionizing, such as the shorter wavelength variety. UVB is not, but can cause chemical reactions, such as fluorescence. UVC, which can be ionizing, doesn't normally reach earth's surface. UV light causes reactive oxygen species, I guess this is not the same as ionizing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_oxygen_species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_oxygen_species https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3709783/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3709783/ (EDIT: more responses have been added by others that echo this information)
  • olyjohn 3y ago
    UV is right on the edge of of the spectrum for non-ionizing radiation. I would bet that it still has some ionizing effects, as I'm sure the line between ionizing and non-ionizing is just just a cutoff at a specific frequency.
  • jjoonathan 3y ago
    > Non-ionizing radiation can affect your DNA, for instance UV UV: 3eV to 124eV RF: .00001eV
    • arcticbull 3y ago
      Yes I was not implying RF did anything at all to your DNA. I think that premise is silly.
• hn8305823 3y ago
  Non-ionizing RF at high enough concentrations causes heating which can directly damage body tissue/organs. The sensitivity to this effect varies by tissue type, location, and most importantly by frequency. Higher frequencies are not always worse than lower ones at the same power level, molecular structure and resonances can be more sensitive at specific frequency bands. So the question with regard to tumors is can this heating cause changes in DNA? My non-scientific/non-medical opinion is that it can but not before major structural damage occurs killing the cell anyways. Even if the cell survives the DNA damage is likely to be widespread, not just a few base pairs, and the cell would destroy itself.
  • kstrauser 3y ago
    I’d be shocked. Consider that your skin is exposed to much more drastic temperature changes.
    • hammock 3y ago
      Ever been sunburned? The mechanism has nothing to do with "drastic temperature changes"
      • kstrauser 3y ago
        Yes, but I was replying to someone about heating.
    • Shawnj2 3y ago
      The danger is that when you microwave something you aren’t burning it with light, you are heating the water content of it.
• hammock 3y ago
  No, it is not binary. Alpha or beta particles damages DNA by breaking chemical bonds in the DNA backbone or bases, leading to single-strand breaks or more severe damage. Gamma rays can directly ionize atoms, leading to the formation of free radicals and other reactive species. These free radicals can damage DNA by causing single-strand and double-strand breaks, base modifications, and other types of chemical damage. Non-ionizing radiation can also damage DNA, in a number of different ways. UV radiation damages DNA in four different ways: 1) Thymine Dimers Formation: One of the most common types of UV-induced DNA damage is the formation of thymine dimers. In DNA, thymine (one of the four nucleotide bases) absorbs UV radiation and becomes excited. In this excited state, it can react with an adjacent thymine base on the same strand, forming a covalent bond between them. This creates a thymine dimer, which is a distortion in the normal DNA structure. Thymine dimers can disrupt the DNA replication and transcription processes, leading to genetic mutations if not properly repaired. 2) DNA Strand Breaks: UV radiation can also cause breaks in the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA molecule. These breaks can occur directly due to the energy of the UV radiation or indirectly through the formation of reactive oxygen species. DNA strand breaks can interfere with DNA replication and repair mechanisms. 3) Formation of Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers (CPDs): CPDs are a specific type of thymine dimer that forms when two adjacent pyrimidine bases (usually thymine) become covalently bonded. These dimers create a kink in the DNA structure, causing distortion and affecting the proper functioning of DNA enzymes. 4) Oxidative Damage: UV radiation can lead to the production of reactive oxygen species within cells. These highly reactive molecules can damage DNA and other cellular components by causing oxidative stress. There could be ways non-UV, non-ionizing radiation can damage DNA as well, and studies such as this one explore that idea.
  • jjoonathan 3y ago
    > Non-ionizing radiation can also damage DNA, in a number of different ways. UV radiation damages DNA in four different ways: Good grief, what's with all the people confidently lumping UV and RF together? This is not a small distinction, a tiny fudge factor, a little oopsie-doodle. We are talking completely different ball games in completely different parks in different countries speaking different languages. The photon energies (and, therefore, the direct effects on matter) are wildly different. Would you rather be hit by a penny or hit by a car? UV: 3eV RF: .00001eV
• mcguire 3y ago
  Note that International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection is a thing. https://www.icnirp.org/ https://www.icnirp.org/