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| Hot Dogs May Cause Genetic Mutations Charles Q. Choi Special to LiveScience LiveScience.com Mon Aug 14, 10:15 AM ET Everyone knows hot dogs aren't exactly healthy for you, but in a new study chemists find they may contain DNA-mutating compounds that might boost one's risk for cancer. Scientists note there is an up to 240-fold variation in levels of these chemicals across different brands. "One could try and find out what the difference in manufacturing techniques are between the brands, and if it's decided these things are a hazard, one could change the manufacturing methods," researcher Sidney Mirvish, a chemist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told LiveScience. Mirvish and his colleagues examined hot dogs because past research had linked them with colon cancer. Hot dogs are preserved with sodium nitrite, which can help form chemicals known as N-nitroso compounds, most of which cause cancer in lab animals. Extracts from hot dogs bought from the supermarket, when mixed with nitrites, resulted in what appeared to be these DNA-mutating compounds. When added to Salmonella bacteria, hot dog extracts treated with nitrites doubled to quadrupled their normal DNA mutation levels. Triggering DNA mutations in the gut might boost the risk for colon cancer, the researchers explained....... More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060814/sc_...eneticmutations |
| QUOTE (Zairik @ Aug 15 2006, 07:37 PM) |
| Even if this is proven, people will eat hotdogs all the same anyway. |
| QUOTE (Nebuchanezzar @ Aug 18 2006, 09:18 AM) |
| It would be interesting to know the chance levels of contracting cancer from hotdogs. I mean, they're obviously not high but it would be rather cool to compare them to the chance of getting cancer from decaying elements in the earth or from radiation from the sun. |
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You know, most people think about finding the cause of cancer to cure it. Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that people would use that knowledge as a weapon? |