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Humans Make Ozone

Posted by michael on from the o3-150%-as-good-as-o2 dept.

MondoMor writes "Spotted this article at the Scripps Research Institute. Apparently humans have the ability to manufacture ozone, and do so as an immune response. Suppose we took a bunch of lawyers to the south pole, right under the ozone hole..."

5 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Singlet oxygen from immune cells! by juushin · · Score: 4, Interesting
    That immune cells have been found to produce singlet oxygen is much more interesting, I think, than the finding that bodies produce ozone.

    Dude, if you thought that ozone is bad news, singlet oxygen is highly toxic to just about everything biological.

  2. Cancer? by planux · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I'm not mistaken, oxidants cause mutations in the DNA of your cells -- and if that mutation happens to occur in some vital bit of the DNA, you get cancer. Cancer cells are, fundamently, normal cells that have gone awry and reproduce extremely quickly. That's why chemotherapy is used to treat cancer -- chemotherapy targets fast-reproducing cells (also why it makes your hair fall out -- hair cells are another fast reproducing cell type). In any case, if your body produces oxidants to fight germs, couldn't those same oxidants be causing, as a side affect, mutations in your DNA? Maybe the dramatic rise in cancer rates over the past x*10^2 years isn't due entirely to our longer life spans -- maybe it's also, in part, due to the fact that we live much closer together and regularly infect and are infected by our family members/cow-workers/fellow K-mart shoppers. The common cold a cause of cancer? Maybe not so far fetched. And maybe it's the body's oxidant-loaded response to things like cigarettes that causes cancer -- not the cigarette chemicals themselves (though I am very poorly acquainted with cigarette research). Also, what impact would those anti-oxidant drinks/pills/suppositories that are all the fad these days have on your body's ability to fight off diseases?

  3. hmm.. by C21 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    this reminds me of the terraforming discussion we had a few days ago. Accelerated technology on ozone production is not only good for our planet, but for others in the future. Wasn't there a release in Nature or some such magazine that stated that the hole in the ozone wall was repairing itself, though? Kinda harsh if we get up these billion dollar ozone making plants and they're obsoleted by good old mother earth...

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  4. Re:bad for them, goodish for us by forkboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For example the enzyme catalase converts hydrogen peroxide into water and hydrogen, while superoxide dismutase is a free radical scavenger.

    Interesting....those are the two main results of exposure to ionizing radiation, (aside from damage to cellular structures directly) the cleavage of water molecules in cells to form hydrogen peroxide (toxic to cells) and formation free radicals (causes chemical changes in DNA molecules). Why aren't these two enzymes used in treatment of radiation exposure? Are they difficult to synthesize or unstable or something?

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  5. Re:We produce BAD ozone... by superyooser · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Ozone is poisonous at very high levels, but so is oxygen (relative to normal levels). Ozone has a strangely fresh, sweet odor. Sometimes you can smell it outside after a lightning storm. The odor is easily detectable at safe levels and is not necessarily a sign of danger.

    At .05 ppm (parts per million) or less, ozone is not only safe, but healthy. I have two air purifier/ionizers in my bedroom (more than recommended for its size), which produce ozone. It's not like I'm gassing myself. Read the FAQ for all the technical details.

    From your linked page: "There's this bike path near my house, but when I walk or run on it on ozone alert days I spend the next few hours coughing." -- Melissa, age 68

    There must be a very high concentration of ozone at that particular location. My allergies hardly bother me at all since I put these ozone-producing devices in my house (one beside my bed pillow!), which run 24 hours a day. After taking allergy shots every month for many years, I don't need the shots anymore. The ozone negative ions remove contaminants from the air.

    See this.

    In studies conducted at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Russia, Dr. Gubernskii and Dr. Dmitriev found that 0.005 ppm (parts per million) to 0.02 ppm of ozone added to normal indoor air (0 ppm) increased animals' resistance to the cold, to infection, to toxic substances, and to oxygen deprivation. A general increase in the immune "biological potential" and the vital capacity of the lungs was reported.

    Dr. Gubernskii and Dr. Dmitriev also performed tests using less than .01 ppm of ozone in an air-conditioned office building, which revealed that "the levels of oxygen in the blood increase relatively quickly and remain at a high level for the duration of the experiment." They also stated that: "Atmospheric ozone has a positive effect on animals and people. It is important to note its positive effect on the breathing system, blood composition, arterial pressure, immune system, general feeling of well-being, and mental and physical work capability. The ozone-ion complex is a necessary component of fresh air that gives it a curative effect."

    This same study, featured in the Russian journal Priroda, also reports a decrease in complaints of stuffiness (3.8 times fewer complaints).
    And there's a lot more information on that site. Based on personal experience with their product, I'm inclined to believe in their research and conclusions.