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mutagen
(redirected from Mutagens)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
mutagen: see mutation mutation, in biology, a sudden, random change in a gene , or unit of hereditary material, that can alter an inheritable characteristic. Most mutations are not beneficial, since any change in the delicate balance of an organism having a high level of adaptation to its
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mutagen

Any agent capable of altering a cell's genetic makeup by changing the structure of the hereditary material, DNA. Many forms of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., cosmic rays, X rays, ultraviolet light) are mutagenic, as are various chemical compounds. The effects of some mutagens are increased or suppressed in some organisms by the presence of certain other, nonmutagenic substances; oxygen, for example, makes cells more sensitive to the mutagenic effects of X rays.


mutagen
a substance or agent that can induce genetic mutation

mutagen [′myüd·ə·jən]
(genetics)
An agent that raises the frequency of mutation above the spontaneous or background rate.


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Because GST serves as a phase II enzyme in detoxifying xenobiotics and keeping intracellular redox balance in the presence of its substrates, the increase of GST activity in coke oven workers may represent adaptation or defense against the burden of mutagens and carcinogens in the human body.
Specifically, the company added four different human cultured cells to NESMAGET in order to identify mutagens in food with a higher accuracy.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union has been working on its Cosmetics Directive, a regulatory action that requires European cosmetic companies and international companies marketing their products in the EU to eliminate chemicals in their products that are known or strongly suspected of being carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins.
 
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