SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2012 – Atmospheric oxygen facilitated the
evolution and complexity of terrestrial organisms, including
human beings, because it allowed nutrients to be used more
efficiently by those organisms, which in turn were able to
generate more energy. However, as we find out more about how
oxygen molecules work inside the body, more attention is being
paid to their not-so-good effects, and researchers are seeking
ways to thwart them. A number of environmental factors -- such
as pollution, cigarette smoke and radiation -- can turn the
oxygen molecules found in mitochondria, the power plants of
cells, into free radicals. These unstable molecules destroy
virtually all the normal molecules forming cells, such as
lipids, proteins and even DNA, by turning them into free
radicals, too. This destructive phenomenon is associated with
aging and occurs in a variety of diseases, including
hypertension and diabetes, which represent major challenges for
health systems due to their great social and economic cost