Thirdhand Smoke (IMAGE)

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Thirdhand Smoke

Caption

Thirdhand smoke contains the chemicals in secondhand smoke from a cigarette that are deposited on indoor surfaces. Some of these chemicals interact with molecules from the air to create a toxic mix that includes potentially cancer-causing compounds. These compounds induce double-stranded breaks (DSBs) in DNA, which if not repaired correctly, could lead to tumorigenesis in mice. In this study, the researchers have shown for the first time that thirdhand smoke exposure induces lung cancer in A/J mice in early life.

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Antoine Snijders, Jian-Hua Mao, and Bo Hang/Berkeley Lab

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