Conveners
Nanoscale radiation damage to DNA: theoretical perspectives
- Simone Taioli (European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas, Trento, Italy)
In this talk I will provide a general overview on the role played by low energy electrons in DNA damage.First, I willbriefly discussexperimental findings and theoretical results hand in hand with the aim of describing thephysics and chemistry that occurs during the process of radiation damage, from the initialstages of electronic excitation, through the inelastic propagation of electrons in...
Despite a vast accumulated basic knowledge in irradiating single cells and tissues, medical radiotherapy of cancer is still based on the application of simple empirical models, with little or no reference to the microscopic complexity of DNA damage and molecular repair pathways. In cell irradiation experiments, the amount of radiation-induced DNA damage is found to be systematically...