Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that's been damaged by the cooking process.
Study in mice links heat-damaged DNA in food to possible genetic risks
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-mice-links-heat-damaged-dna-food.html
2 Comments
tinwhiskers@kbin.social · 3 pts · 3y
Kinda surprising that the DNA isn't entirely destroyed in the digestive system. Any thoughts on why this may have evolved, or do you think it's more of a bug? Is not like burned food would have been a common source for increasing genetic diversity in earlier organisms.
CapitalMinutia@kbin.social · 1 pts · 3y
Perhaps it’s just like proteins into amino acids - digestion just breaks it as far as necessary, not into the smallest pieces.
So the nucleotides are usable by our bodies, therefore no need to break down into further components.