Can Pollution Cause Genetic Mutations in Future Generations?

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

a new study at McMasters University in Toronto has discovered that polution can alter your DNA, the research were done on mice, three categories, the first category lived in the middle of an industrial zone brething in heavily poluted air, the second lived on a farm with clean air, and the third lived in the industrial zone but breathing air filtered by a hepafilter(sp?), it was shown that after 10 week the first group had sufered a genetic mutation and that mutation was passed down to their offsprings, the next 2 groups suffered nothing, they were both healthy.

now my question is this, given that a large amount of time people breath in poluted air, mutation arises, wouldn't it be safer to cut down more on polution, take away most of the coal and gas power generators and replace them with more effecient nuclear generators, since now nuclar PPs are over 200% safer than Chernobyl, they are more effecient, and less harful to us and the enviroment, what do you guys think?

 

[jimmy p]

All sounds well and good but there are always whiners who protest. Just cos of Chernobyl. However a lot of protesters don't know the facts properly, and nuclear power plants are very safe and efficient. Stupid whining greenpeace

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

i agree, there is threat assesment, which educated people use to determine their stance, those people look at all the stats never leaving one behind.
then there is threat perception, what the general public uses to make their opinion, those people use the past and the fear factor of not knowing to make their opinion, it is said that the general public can not understand a statistic over 1 in 10000, even though 1 in 1000000 means their is less threat they can't understand it there fore it is just "another" statistic

 

[berty]

Life adapts

a new study at McMasters University in Toronto has discovered that polution can alter your DNA, the research were done on mice, three categories, the first category lived in the middle of an industrial zone brething in heavily poluted air, the second lived on a farm with clean air, and the third lived in the industrial zone but breathing air filtered by a hepafilter(sp?), it was shown that after 10 week the first group had sufered a genetic mutation and that mutation was passed down to their offsprings, the next 2 groups suffered nothing, they were both healthy.

now my question is this, given that a large amount of time people breath in poluted air, mutation arises, wouldn't it be safer to cut down more on polution, take away most of the coal and gas power generators and replace them with more effecient nuclear generators, since now nuclar PPs are over 200% safer than Chernobyl, they are more effecient, and less harful to us and the enviroment, what do you guys think?

Why are you surprised?

If a species is stressed it adapts or dies.

And how do you define healthy?

 

[i_wish_i_was_smart]

Why are you surprised?

If a species is stressed it adapts or dies.

And how do you define healthy?

i never said i was surprised,
by healthy i meant no changes in those mice, not geneticaly or anything