An international conference on """"""""Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair"""""""" is currently being organized and is scheduled for June 2-7, 1985 at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The program will consist of 9 half-day sessions with 3 invited speakers per session and contributed papers, some of which will be presented orally and the others as posters. The Conferemce will deal with kinetic and mechanistic aspect of DNA damage inflicted by various agents and processes, such as radiations, chemicals, drugs, and autoxidation, with special emphasis on free radical reactions. Mechanisms of DNA strand breaks (single and double), base alteration or loss, cross links within DNA and between DNA and proteins, and covalent binding will be the major part of the conference program. Since DNA is associated with histones and the DNA integrity depends on repair enzymes, mechanisms of damage to proteins and repair enzymes will be also included. The second part of the Conferene will deal with kinetics and mechanisms of repair enzymes with particular emphasis on mechanism of damage recognition and intrinsic resistance of individuals to radiation and chemical insults. The third part of the Conference will attempt to quantify exposure and risk through the assessment of damage to DNA or proteins. The Conference will be unique in that: (1) It represents a first meeting dealing comprehensively with the kinetics and mechanisms of DNA damage associated with a range of agents, and correlation of DNA damage and enzymatic DNA repair. (2) It will assess the role of free radical processes in molecular biology. (3) It will attempt to evaluate individual resistance towards a variety of hazardous agents. (4) It will set the stage for development of molecular toxicology. In view of accelerated interest in the above fields, the conference will be timely and should stimulate new research through cross-fertilization of the represented disciplines. The expected impact of the conference is in the fields of carcinogenesis, preventive carcinogenesis, radiation biology, radioprotection, biotechnology, genetic engineering, food technology, risk assessment, legislation of risk. The proceedings are planned to be published as a book.
