INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES MECHANISMS OF DNA DAMAGE, REPAIR.

Abstract

For five days, 60 invited speakers, 11 5 contributors and more than 200 additional attendees probed the mysteries of DNA at the International Conference on "Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair: Implications for Carcinogenesis and Risk Assessment," held at 148S. Donald R. Johnson, director of NBS' National Measurement Laboratory and the chairman of the organizing committee,' opened the June 2-7 conference and introduced Ernest Ambler, director of NBS, who greeted the distinguished gathering of foremost experts in the field. The conference chairman, Michael G. Simic, ralsed the question: "How do we protect ourselves from natural and man-created hazards which damage DNA, and to which we are exposed on a daily basis?" Meeting for the first time to exchange ideas and perceptions of future trends were scientists dealing with topics as diverse as DNA and protein damage, DNA repair enzymes, the consequences of unrepaired DNA or faulty repair of DNA, site-specific DNA binding drugs, dosimetry of exposure to genotoxic agents, DNA damage in risk assessment, and the role of science in regulatory decisions. The conference was subdivided into an introduction, three scientific sections, and a poster exhibition. The three sections "Mechanisms of DNA Damage," "DNA Repair and Consequences," and "Risk Assessment" were chaired by distinguished veterans in those fields: George Scholes, Larry Grossman, and Arthur D. Upton, respectively. Each section was further subdivided into half-day sessions. In all of the sessions the primary objective was to discuss the mechanisms of phenomena at the molecular level. As was pointed out repeatedly, we are exposed to many actual and potential hazards. It is now becoming increasingly clear that we cannot devote all our resources to the investigation of hazardous aspects of all agents to which we are or might be exposed. Consequently, mechanistic understanding of deleterious processes is becoming necessary to assure predictability