In the comet assay single cells are analyzed with respect to their level of DNA damage. Discrimination of the individual cell or cell type based on DNA content, with concomitant scoring of the DNA damage, is useful since this may allow analysis of mixtures of cells. Different cells can then be characterized based on their ploidy, cell cycle stage, or genome size. We here describe two applicatio...

The comet assay is actually one of the most widespread tool to evaluate DNA damage. Its sensibility to low dose radiation has been tested in vitro, both there is a limited data showing its application and sensibility in chronic exposure situation, where the assay seem to be more useful. The influence of the internal contamination caused by the Chernobyl accident on the level of DNA damage was e...

1. The in vivo alkaline comet (single cell gel electrophoresis) assay (hereafter called simply the comet assay) is used for the detection of DNA strand breaks in cells or nuclei isolated from multiple tissues of animals, usually rodents, that have been exposed to potentially genotoxic material(s). The comet assay has been reviewed and recommendations have been published by various expert groups...

The 12C14N/12C15N and 12C14N/13C14N isotopic ratios are determined for the first time in a Jupiter-family comet, 88P/1981 Q1 Howell, and in the chemically peculiar Oort Cloud comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR). By comparing these measurements to previous ones derived for six other Oort Cloud comets (including one of Halley-type), we find that both the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios are constant with...

The impacts of comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter provided the first chance to actually observe the effects which may be important in causing mass extinctions. The widely predicted global deposition of dust, leading to the phenomena associated with 'nuclear winter', was readily observed, although Jupiter's internal heat source causes a different response deep in the atmosphere than occurs on...

The comet assay is a sensitive method for detecting DNA damage and is widely used in isolated human lymphocytes. This test involves time-consuming experiments and the samples should immediately be processed after collection. Hininger et al. froze human whole blood samples to use for future analyzes and thawed them after four months. Herein, the objective of this study was to validate a protocol...