Alcohol damages DNA of unborn children beyond repair, says study

7zark7

7zark7

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
2,559
Location
UK
[size=+1]Alcohol damages DNA of unborn children beyond repair, says study[/size]
Scientist have identified the precise molecular mechanism leading to the breakdown of the body's natural defences that protect DNA against harm from excessive alcohol

By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Thursday, 7 July 2011

Binge drinking can cause permanent genetic damage especially to the unborn children of women in the earliest stage of pregnancy, according to a study which shows for the first time how alcohol destroys DNA.

Scientists have identified the precise molecular mechanism leading to the breakdown of the body's natural defences that protect DNA against damage from excessive alcohol in the bloodstream. They believe the results demonstrate that binge drinking causes a build-up of toxins within the body, causing irreversible genetic damage, which may explain the phenomenon known as foetal-alcohol syndrome, when babies of mothers who drink during pregnancy are born with congenital learning problems.

The study was based on genetically-modified mice, but the scientists involved said the findings are applicable to humans and represent a sea-change in the understanding of how alcohol causes long-term physical damage to the body.


Full article: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...hildren-beyond-repair-says-study-2308102.html
 
And yet alcohol remains legal... why?
Thalidomide isn't sold in stores, why can people go out and buy mutagens like ethanol?
 
sekio said:
And yet alcohol remains legal... why?
Thalidomide isn't sold in stores, why can people go out and buy mutagens like ethanol?
Click to expand...

Well alcohol will always be legal, for many many reasons, but Thalidomide was a drug that was actually meant to be taken during pregnancy, alcohol is not.
The fact that hardly anybody knows the real harms it will cause an unborn baby is the problem.
 
I was under the impression that thalidomide never actually received approval for use (at least in the U.S.) but people used it anyway. Alcohol, on the other hand...
 
This reminds me of the "crack baby" myth, and it later being discovered that nicotine from cigarette smoking is what caused the low birth weight in cocaine addicted mothers. All the worst drugs are legal.

In my perfect world tobacco products and alcohol would replaced with cocaine & opioids.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top