Ames. Bruce

Ames, Bruce N., and Lois Swirsky Gold. 1988. Carcinogenic Risk Estimation. Science 240 (May 20) 1045-47. 

Ames, Bruce N. McCann, Joyce Yamosaki, Edith. Methods for Detecting Carcinogens and Mutagens with Salmonella/Mammalian-Microsome Mutagenicity Test. Mutation Research, 1975, 31, pp. 347-363. 

McCann, Joyce Choi, Edmund Yamosaki, Edith Ames, Bruce N. Detection of Carcinogens as Mutagens in the Salmonella/Microsome Test Assay of 300 Chemicals. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 1975, 72, (12), pp. 5135. 

Ames, Bruce. 1971, The detection of chemical mutagens with enteric bacteria, In Chemical Mutagens Principles and Methods for their Detection, vol, 1, edited by Alexander Hollaender, 267-279, New York Plenum Press,... 

Ames, Bruce N., William E, Durston, Edith Yamasaki, and Frank D, Lee, 1973. Carcinogens are mutagens A simple test system combining liver homogenates for activation and bacteria for detection, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 70 2281-2285. 

Ames, Bruce N., 223 Arcos, Joseph C, 175 Ashby, John, 201 Bates, Michael N., 207 Birt, Diane F., 107 Doull, John, 1 Fox, T. R., 43 Germolec, Dori R., 142 House, Robert V., 94 Huff, James, 142 Lamb, James C, IV, 6 Luster, Michael L, 142 Mehendale, Harihara M., 122 Menzer, Robert E., vii... 

Ames, Bruce N., The Detection of Environmental Mutagens and Potential Carcinogens, Cancer, 53, 1034-1040 (1984). 

Named after its inventor, Bruce Ames, the test has become one of the common screening tests for measuring the potential carcinogenic effects of... 

Genetic Make up of Tester Strains. The most widely used strains are those developed by Bruce Ames and colleagues which are mutant derivatives of the organism Salmonella typhimurium. Each strain carries one of a number of mutations in the operon coding for histidine biosynthesis. In each case the mutation can be reverted either by base-change or by frameshift mutations. The genotype of the commonly used strains is shown in Table 6.6. 

Professor Bruce Ames, a biochemist at the University of California at Berkeley is one of the pioneers of this type of short-term testing. The Ames Test, as it is called, is now widely used, typically as one of several short-term tests that constitute a series of tests, or battery. A battery is thought necessary because no single test is adequate to detect all types of genotoxicity. The Ames Test involves the use of mutant strains of a common bacterium. Salmonella typhimurium, that back-mutate to their normal state in the presence of a mutagenic chemical or metabolite. Many other bacterial and mammalian cell systems have been made available for this type of testing. 

Then, in the mid 1970s, Professor Bruce Ames of the University of California at Berkeley came along. We discussed in Chapter 5 Professor Ames role in the development of tests for genetic toxicity, tests that tell us something about mechanisms of carcinogenicity. 

These are expensive and time-consuming studies. Beyond that, they do not always yield clear and compelhng results. It would clearly be good to have a much simpler test that could be applied early in research and development efforts, even if the answer was not definitive. Bruce Ames devised such a test. 

In Chapter 1 Bruce N. Ames, the plenary speaker at the symposium, describes the development of the Salmonella/microsome assay, which is better known as the Ames Test. This test was the first proven rehable and rapid in-vitro method for the mutagenic and carcinogenic screening of chemicals. Included is an excellent overview of the potential problem of human exposure to toxic substances as well as a description of how this important method is being used to test chemical substances. 

Other, more sensitive, tests have been suggested for the evaluation of potential carcinogenic risk of exposure to chemicals. These include the bacterial mutagenesis test devised by Dr. Bruce Ames ( ). This test has been applied to many of the amines listed in Table 1, both alone and after reaction with nitrite in weakly acid solution, followed by neutralization and application to the bacteria. In Table 3 are given the results of a number of such tests, together with comparison of the results of chronic... 

Gold, Lois Swirsky, Leslie Bernstein, and Bruce N. Ames. 1990. The Importance of Ranking Possible Carcinogenic Hazards. Risk Analysis 10 625-28. 

Bruce Ames is the inventor of the Ames Test, which allows scientists to test chemicals to see whether they cause mutations in bacteria and perhaps cancer in humans. His research and testimony led to bans on such synthetic chemicals as Tris, the flame-retardant used in children s pajamas. 

Three chapters in this volume describe expensive and extensive research efforts devoted to images of risk. Stephen Safe assesses the research that fails to find any health from endocrine disruptors in the environment. Bruce Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold review the collapse of the scientific underpinnings for the assertion that environmental chemicals are a major cause of cancer. Bernard L. Cohen contrasts the absence of data to show that nuclear power plants have caused death and disease with the near-total demise of the nuclear power industry because of assertions about cancer risks from the plants. 

Bruce Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold, Cancer Prevention and the Environmental Chemical Distraction ... 

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