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Switching off lights can avoid cancer
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Simply turning
on a light at night for a few seconds to go to the toilet can cause changes that
might lead to cancer, scientists claim.
Researchers in the UK and Israel found that when a light is turned on at night,
it triggers an "over-expression" of cells linked to the formation of cancer.
The tests were carried out on mice at Leicester University by geneticist
Professor Charalambos Kyriacou. During the trial, a group of mice were exposed
to a light for one hour. When compared with mice, who had been kept in the dark,
changes were found in cells in the brain responsible for the circadian clock
which controls body function.
"We believe that any turning on of artificial light in the night has an impact
on the body clock. It's a very sensitive mechanism. If you want to get up to go
to the toilet, you should avoid reaching for the light switch. There are some
plug-in lights that just glow, that are safe and you could use them as an
alternative," Rachel Ben-Shlomo, of the University of Haifa, was quoted as
saying.
IANS / Times of India
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