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> 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 a

> 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.

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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)

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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)