DNA
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid is the very building block needed in the creation of life. It is composed of genetic instruction to map out the creation of an entire organism. DNA is well suited in the storage of biological information. Yet with all of this complex information there are certain chemicals or forms of energy that can damage or alter this special coding. In process of damaging or altering the coding of DNA the most dreaded situation of a cancerous cell can be formed. To start let’s look at the different kinds of radiation that may or may not effect DNA.
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation Ionizing Radiation can change the way our body’s work and develop. Direct includes covalent linkage between nitrogenous bases, and creating structure like thymine dimmers. Indirect is when it interacts with water to create free radicals which can interact with a person’s DNA. It can cause single or double stranded breaks in the sugar- phosphate backbone. (Buttons, n.d.)
Alpha Radiation is a process that needs to be swallowed, inhaled, and or absorbed into the blood stream. This can increase the risk of cancer also known as lung cancer. Radon is a silent but deadly killer. To determine if one has been affected by alpha particles testing would be completed with special equipment and gear to prevent those from any exposure.
Beta Particles can be a helpful process of treatment to many, such as treating thyroid disorders, cancer, and Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism). It also is part of agricultural such as live stock, and/or farming. Yes we as humans have beta emitters in our systems, but they are very weak. We can look back at Chernobyl, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki; whether it be an atomic bomb or a nuclear reactor failing and or contamination to all of those surrounding the site and within several miles radius can lead to high to deadly exposure. All of the land that has been exposed still has the ability of contamination for many years to come. The results from beta particles can cause redness to the skin and even 2nd to 3rd degree burns, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bone marrow depletion, weight loss, flu-like symptoms, infections, bleeding, cataracts, decreased fertility. Children have higher rate for exposure. It can lead to unborn fetuses and lasts from several days to several years depending on the amount of exposure one gets.
It is far worse to inhale or ingest the particles which can dispute cell function. They are smaller and travel further in the cell tissue causing cellular damage which all leads to cancer, thyroid, bone, and teeth depletion.
Gamma radiation can come from having too many X-rays, including mammograms, so when you go to the dentist and or physician and get any of these done you are exposing yourself to these rays. This is the reason why personnel need to wear a lead apron and have a device that shows how much they have been exposed to. Once they have meet their limit they will need to seek medical attention. This has the largest exposure range. All one has to do is inhale it. It has enough power to transfer through several centimeters of tissue. All human organs then are at risk and could be destroyed. It is common that it leads to bone and lungs for its main attack. (King Count, 2012)
Chemistry of DNA
DNA is a general chemical composition composed of nucleotides which consists of a nitrogenous base (two purines, adenine and guanine, and two pyrimidine’s, cytosine and thymine), a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose), and a phosphate group all bonded together (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). Covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide to the phosphate of the next, creating a phosphate-sugar backbone with protruding nitrogenous bases, joining the nucleotides together. “One strand is held to another by hydrogen bonds between the bases; the sequencing of this bonding is specific—i.e., adenine bonds only with thymine, and cytosine only with guanine” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013, para. 2).
Scientists have discovered an important part of DNA mutation relating to cancer. “A free radical, a stable neutral atom or a chemical group containing at least one unpaired electron, can scavenge an electron from DNA in a process known as oxidation, creating a hole in place of the scavenged electron” (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2006, para. 2). The hole that is left in the ionized DNA reacts with water. The water causes the body to allow the wrong proteins to code newly formed DNA which leads to an abnormally high rate of cell division, resulting in cancer.
Effects of Radiation
Radiation can cause different outcomes when it interacts with cells. The radiation can pass through a cell without causing any damage. It can also pass through a cell and damage the cell, but the cell is able to repair itself. It can also affect the cells ability to reproduce correctly or it can kill the cell. When a cell is killed it does not affect the body, but when multiple cells are killed then the organism will die. DNA is critical for living things and is constantly being prepared. When DNA goes through repair it is not always 100% efficient. Cells with damaged DNA that survive and reproduce can lead to cancer. When the cells are not corrected it can also lead to mutated cells that are passed to offspring. DNA can be exposed to radiation by direct or indirect actions. The damage that occurs to DNA by radiation is completely different than DNA mutation. The damage to DNA results in changes being made to the chemical structure of the DNA. Most DNA damage from radiation involves chemical modification of the bases, which affects the structure. When indirect radiation is exposed to DNA it can interact with the water in the cell. This can break the bond holding the molecules together resulting in hydrogen and hydroxyls ions. These ions can combine with other ions in the cell to form hydrogen peroxide, which can destruct the cell and attack the DNA (Curio City 2013).

Changes in DNA
There are a multitude of things that cause cancer and no one thing is truly the sole responsible icon for the creation of cancer caused by changes in DNA. A small change in DNA paired with a slight fault in genetic code inherited by the parent genes can rightly cause cancer all on its own. “Fundamentally cancer is caused by multiple incidents of damaged or faulty genes within the same cell” (How cancer starts?, para. 2). An individual could run their entire life never experiencing cancer simply from just being lucky enough to have different cells damaged by radiation but none of them enough to become cancerous. Cancer are caused over a lifetime of changes to the DNA sequence from radiation, toxins from the air, water and what is consumed and genetic faults inherited by parent genes, carcinogens, and even just age.
When these changes, these damaging effects occur however there is a chance that the cell becomes cancerous. What this means is that the cell loses its behavioral codes within its genes to tell it how to properly behave. “Protein starts to be told to go to different areas of the cell acting as switches for new behaviors that were not originally part of the cell causing it to eventually divide and multiple rapidly” (How cancer starts, 2013). It is this moment that the cell is now considered cancerous as it grows out of control and its now brother and sister mutation cells take up nutrients that the healthy cells around them need and start to create the negative after effects in the body. If left untreated that part of the body will begin to decay within eventually causing death to the complex organism that is the host of these cells. The time or even possibility of treatment would revolve around the area in which the cancer has formed.

Conclusion
With the understanding of how DNA works chemists can study how certain radiations affect cells. They can figure out how these mutations occur and with further study a possible way of how to repair or stop these mutations. Radiation itself is used in some major ways to stop mutations of DNA from running rampant by destroying the primary cells that are cancerous. Through the understanding of radiation, how DNA works, and how the everyday lifestyle of organisms affects their own DNA the understanding of how cancerous cells are formed becomes clearer.

References
Curio City (2013) Radiation Effects on Cells & DNA Retrieved from http://www.explorecuriocity.org/Content.aspx?ContentID=2212
Dyna Buttons. (n.d.) Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Retrieved from https://www.utminers.utep.edu/rwebb/html/effects_of_ionizing_radiation.html
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2013). DNA (Chemical Compound). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/167063/DNA
How cancer starts. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/cells/how-cancer-starts
Journal of the American Chemical Society. (2006). Scientists Uncover Critical Step in DNA Mutation. Retrieved from http://www.newswise.com/articles/scientists-uncover-critical-step-in-dna-mutation
King County. (2012). Radiation Facts and Health Effects. Retrieved from https://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness/radiation/facts.aspx
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (May 15, 2013). Alpha and Beta Particles.
Retrieved from https://www.epapa.gov/radiation/understand/beta.html#affecthealth.
What causes cancer? (2009). Retrieved from http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerandresearch/all-about-cancer/what-is-cancer/what-causes-cancer/