And for those who haven't seen this news item yet. A study by a scientist from the University of Northern Arizona has confirmed that depleted uranium as a heavy metal causes genetic damage and is a carcinogen (independent of whatever radiological damage it might do).
Uranium - when manifested as a radioactive metal - has profound and debilitating effects on human DNA. These radioactive effects have been well understood for decades, but there has been considerable debate and little agreement concerning the possible health risks associated with low-grade uranium ore (yellowcake) and depleted uranium.
Now however, Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane Stearns has established that when cells are exposed to uranium, the uranium binds to DNA and the cells acquire mutations, triggering a whole slew of protein replication errors, some of which can lead to various cancers. Stearns' research, published in the journals Mutagenesis and Molecular Carcinogenesis, confirms what many have suspected for some time - that uranium can damage DNA as a heavy metal, independently of its radioactive properties. "Essentially, if you get a heavy metal stuck on DNA, you can get a mutation," Stearns explained. While other heavy metals are known to bind to DNA, Stearns and her team were the first to identify this characteristic with uranium.
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060307010324data_trunc_sys.shtmlSee also the presentation on depleted uranium by Thomas Fasy MD PhD, Professor of Pathology Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4124449
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