In the past few years, several medications have been found to be contaminated with NDMA, a probable carcinogen. This chemical, which has also been found at Superfund sites and in some cases has spread to drinking water supplies, causes DNA damage that can lead to cancer.
MIT researchers have now discovered a mechanism that helps explain whether this damage will lead to cancer in mice: The key is the way cellular DNA repair systems respond. The team found that too little activity of one enzyme necessary for DNA repair leads to much higher cancer rates, while too much activity can produce tissue damage, especially in the liver, which can be fatal.
Activity levels of this enzyme, called AAG, can vary greatly among different people, and measuring those levels could allow doctors to predict how people might respond to NDMA exposure, says Bevin Engelward, a professor of biological engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. “It may be that people who are low in this enzyme are more prone to cancer from environmental exposures,” she says.
Now, MIT engineers have spun polyethylene into fibers and yarns designed to wick away moisture. They wove the yarns into silky, lightweight fabrics that absorb and evaporate water more quickly than common textiles such as cotton, nylon, and polyester.
Read More: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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