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The Physics arXiv Blog How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA
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A new model of the way the THz waves interact with DNA explains how the
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Great things are expected of terahertz waves, the radiation that fills the slot in
» Rip 'n' curl
the electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and the infrared.
» How Terahertz Waves
Terahertz waves pass through non-conducting materials such as clothes ,
Tear Apart DNA
paper, wood and brick and so cameras sensitive to them can peer inside
» The Failing Future For
envelopes, into living rooms and "frisk" people at distance.
Earthquake Forecasts
» The Unexpected Behaviour The way terahertz waves are absorbed and emitted can also be used to
of Beads in a Box determine the chemical composition of a material. And even though they
» Do Nuclear Decay Rates don't travel far inside the body, there is great hope that the waves can be used
Depend on Temperature? to spot tumours near the surface of the skin.
» How to Prevent
Columbia-like Space With all that potential, it's no wonder that research on terahertz waves has
Shuttle Disasters exploded in the last ten years or so.
» Names 'n' Numbers
» Naming the Exoplanets But what of the health effects of terahertz waves? At first glance, it's easy to
» The Death of the Teapot dismiss any notion that they can be damaging. Terahertz photons are not
Effect energetic enough to break chemical bonds or ionise atoms or molecules, the
» The Behaviour of chief reasons why higher energy photons such as x-rays and UV rays are so
Antibubbles bad for us. But could there be another mechanism at work?

The evidence that terahertz radiation damages biological systems is mixed.

Recent comments on "Some studies reported significant genetic damage while others, although
the arXivblog similar, showed none," say Boian Alexandrov at the Center for Nonlinear
Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and a few
buddies. Now these guys think they know why.

Alexandrov and co have created a model to investigate how THz fields

interact with double-stranded DNA and what they've found is remarkable.
They say that although the forces generated are tiny, resonant effects allow
THz waves to unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double

1 de 4 01-11-2009 20:38
Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: How Terahertz Waves Tear Ap... http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/

strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene

Guy11 : In deed ! every
expression and DNA replication. That's a jaw dropping conclusion.
thing is tied up to the Current Issue
concept of this "society" And it also explains why the evidence has been so hard to garner. Ordinary
based on the suply of Natural Gas
resonant effects are not powerful enough to do do this kind of damage but
money... Changes the
nonlinear resonances can. These nonlinear instabilities are much less likely to Energy Map
FREEJR : Knowledge in
form which explains why the character of THz genotoxic The United
the wrong hands can effects are probabilistic rather than deterministic, say the team. States has vast
cause great destruction. I
supplies of this
was once read the story of This should set the cat among the pigeons. Of course, terahertz waves are a cleaner fossil
the "Tower... natural part of environment, just like visible and infrared light. But a new fuel. But how
jorich2009 : From generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves should we use
universes that are ejected but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the it?
in big bangs from plasma question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is • Subscribe
multiverses spawn safe. Save 36%
massive 'big holes'... • Table of Contents
ddirico : I would imagine Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0910.5294: DNA Breathing Dynamics in the Presence of a • MIT News
rate of mutation alone, via Terahertz Field
replication would be a » Gift Subscription » Subscribe
pretty solid finding if » Digital » Table of Contents
Subscription » MIT News
there...
» Reprints, Back
... : The DNA unzippering Issues
theory of Alexandrov and
colleagues should be
straightforward to test, More Technology News from
and in...
jameylynne : Black holes
are neither. Space-time 10 Tech Fixes You Can Make Right Now
and matter are mutually 10 Dream HDTVs On A Budget
antagonistic. Gravity is
not a force,... 20 Gadgets For Your 'Man Cave'
ZephirAWT : possible 10 Ways We're Really Spending Our
explanation here is quite Time
simple. This animation 20 Social Media Blunders
illustrates, Kelvin-
Helmholtz...
ZephirAWT : Yea, it's
Kelvin-Helmholtz
instability and resulting
chain of vortices is
sometimes called the...
... : Wasn't G.I. Taylor
doing work on this kind of
phenomenon in the '20s?
bart889 : In my family, we
solved this problem by
applying a high-tech
ultrahydrophobic coating
to the...
dyarema : there is a
technological feat that has
been accomplished for
quite some time now. It is
called a...
puggapugga : could this
material be used in space
travel to coat the hulls of
spaceships and protect
them from...
jondiced : Your students
better make it work or
boy they'll get a whipping,
Walt Guyll : One can sing
"Superhydrophobic
surface fully avoids
dripping" to a famous
Disney tune.
Monsterboy : He figured
out the reason, but, so far
as I read, never came up
with a solution.
yankel : A BBC news
item from 1998 informed
us that Professor spills
secret of the dripping
teapot, and...
ZephirAWT : It seems
not, until stream of fluid
isn't in direct contact with
supporting wall
ZephirAWT : Hi Ron,

2 de 4 01-11-2009 20:38
Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: How Terahertz Waves Tear Ap...
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Close Comments
Comments
Test it!
The DNA unzippering theory of Alexandrov cyberpageman
and colleagues should be straightforward to 10/30/2009
test, and in fact, should be tested before Posts:34
publishing. Single-stranded regions of DNA Avg
are subject to enzyme attack, leading to Rating:
fragmentation of the DNA, and also repair,
which permits the incorporation of radioactive
nucleotides to label them. Either method could
be used to measure the terahertz-caused strand
opening in DNA. A DNA chemist could
suggest other tests.
Rate this comment:
(Reply)
Not good
I would imagine rate of mutation alone, via ddirico
replication would be a pretty solid finding if 10/31/2009
there was one. Posts:1
Hopefully this is confirmed or rejected quickly. Avg
Rate this comment:
Rating:
(Reply)
Too Much Knowledge
Knowledge in the wrong hands can cause great FREEJR
destruction. I was once read the story of the 11/01/2009
"Tower of Babel" and it struck me oddly. In Posts:1
the story God and the sons of god look down Avg
upon the earth and they observe the Rating:
construction of a tower that was to reach into
the heavens.
Apparently god didn't appreciate man's
endeavor, thus it is stated, "Let us divide and
confuse them." And, so goes the origins of the
many languages, but the next sentence is more
fascinating and the implications are
endless...."Unless nothing shall be impossible
for them." Nothing! Is this a good thing? Me
thinks not! But, who will stop it? Nobody!
What if mankind enjoyed one language for
6000 years? It is my guess that the laptop
would have been present before Christ was
born. Yes! There is power in one language
and in this modern world mankind is
overcoming the language barriers and
knowledge is exploding since the age of
computers and the internet.
Gentlemen this Terahertz thing is just another
example of the dangers that can and will plague
mankind. Not that it can't be used for good,
but since when has mankind managed its
knowledge for good only? Never.
Just look at the power of just one biochemist!
He or she can create a plague that could wipe
out the world's population. Hmmmmm....that
may not so bad.... See who is to decide such a
horrific idea as cutting down the world
population by a weapon of the lab? You?!
Me?! A government?! The Rockefellers?! The
Rothchilds?! A loose Cannon?! You get my
point, right?!
I'm afraid the genie is out of the bottle so go
ahead and deceive yourselves into believing
this latest technology will only benefit
mankind. In the wrong hands this knowledge
can devastate any and all DNA. God was right,
nothing is impossible for man. Ugh! I'm not
long for this earth and I thank god.....living a
1000 years would be insufferble.
Good day and good luck.
01-11-2009 20:38
Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: How Terahertz Waves Tear Ap... http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/

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