The reactions that provide the energy for the production of ATP (aka the bulk of all usable energy in every living cell) are oxidation reactions, but the reduction of the oxygen also produces trace amounts of peroxides, which then turn into free radicals that can cause cancer.
So as I tell my students, the number one carcinogen in the world is oxygen…
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The reactions that provide the energy for the production of ATP (aka the bulk of all usable energy in every living cell) are oxidation reactions, but the reduction of the oxygen also produces trace amounts of peroxides, which then turn into free radicals that can cause cancer.
So as I tell my students, the number one carcinogen in the world is oxygen…
One of the ways radiation does damage is by breaking the water in your cells apart into O- and -OH ions.
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