A Radical Point of View: Journey of a Free Radical in a Struggle Against Enzymes and the Body

Oof! Bad day to be a strand of DNA. You can see his bases shaking as you approach. Whereas other radicals might just cause lesions within the DNA, you have the ability to affect the sugar backbone itself, as well as the purine and pyramidine. You pick out just the right place to bind, and cause a break, cleaving part of the strand. It's going to tough to come back from that one. While this mess might be repaired by the cell, there is a probability that the end result is a dangerous mutation. Happy with your handiwork, you head back for the day.

The End