every day we are bombarded by environmental agents that damage ourselves things like UV radiation and chemical exposure such as air pollution and cigarette smoke even the byproducts of metabolism such as free radicals can damage cells these damaging agents can make changes to the DNA in our cells DNA encodes the information needed to make proteins which are the building blocks of our body to keep 2 meters of DNA organized within the nucleus it is wound around special structures called histones much like thread on a spool damage to DNA can include single strand breaks double strand breaks changes to the DNA code DNA kinks and DNA sticking together it has been estimated that an individual cell can suffer up to 1 million DNA changes per day if the DNA damage is able to be repaired a very complex and highly regulated sequence of events follows which is orchestrated by three main molecular machines this is machine number one which is searching for a broken DNA and [Applause] once it is found the birthing end machine one activates this multi [Applause] once active the molecule participates in a series of interactions leading to machine number two here it is again this time activating another molecule this is machine to assembling into its active form machine two builds a chain to link to machine three here is machine three which is also built to chain [Applause] the final molecule in this repair complex Braca one forms from two identical halves which come together and bind raka one then begins the recruitment of further complexes that carry out the actual DNA repair after a long chain of events not shown here the DNA is finally repaired inheritor changes in this area of bracha one alter the protein so that it cannot interact with its identical half the DNA repair process is therefore interrupted with that functional broker one over time cells can accumulate more and more DNA damage [Applause] these damaged cells are more likely to grow and divide out of control leading to formation of tumors alterations in the Braca 1 gene lead to an increased risk for cancer as part of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome inherited Braca 1 errors result in a lifetime risk of 50 to 80 percent for the development of breast cancer and 30 to 50 percent for ovarian cancer women afflicted with bracket1 alterations face a lifetime of constant surveillance however some women opt to ameliorate the risk of cancer by surgical removal of ovaries total mastectomy and taking tamoxifen medication in addition to breast and ovarian cancer Braca 1 errors are also implicated in causing pancreatic and prostate cancer the Peter McCollum Cancer Center is one of the world's leading cancer research education and treatment centers and is Australia's only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer Peter Mac is the largest and most advanced cancer research site in Australia our internationally renowned cancer laboratories seek fundamental biological & biomedical discoveries and aim to facilitate the development and application of these discoveries to their full therapeutic potential we are also committed to offering state-of-the-art diagnostic services and treatment for patients directly resulting from our own discoveries in the lab and the most innovative research and technology from around the world the park filled familial cancer center offers cancer risk assessment genetic testing and counseling and medical advice and management as well as psychological support to those concerned about cancer furthermore we are actively involved in cancer prevention strategies such as the ban on smoking and avoiding UV exposure indeed Peter Mac has been instrumental in the australia-wide ban on commercial tanning beds