Part 9

Atomic Biology for Medicine (1956) explains experiments performed to discover effects of radiation on mammals.

Atoms for Health (1956) outlines two methods of diagnosis and treatment possible with radiation: a diagnostic test of the liver, and cancer therapy with a radioactive cobalt device. Case histories are presented step-by-step.

Radiation: Silent Servant of Mankind (1956) depicts four uses of controlled radiation that can benefit mankind: bombardment of plants from a radioactive cobalt source to induce genetic changes for study and crop improvement; irradiation of deep-seated tumors with a beam from a particle accelerator; therapy of thyroid cancer with radioactive iodine; and possibilities for treating brain tumors.

PHOTO CREDITS

Cover Courtesy Brookhaven National Laboratory

Page 1 General Electric Company 2, 3, & 4 Discovery of the Elements. Mary Elvira Weeks, Journal of Chemical Education 6 Nobel Institute 12 Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital (main photo) 13 Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (LRL) 14 Brookhaven National Laboratory 17 LRL 21 LRL 22 Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory 24 LRL 28 Argonne National Laboratory 39 Paul V. Harper, M. D. 41 University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute

This booklet is one of the “Understanding the Atom” Series. Comments are invited on this booklet and others in the series; please send them to the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D. C. 20545.

Published as part of the AEC’s educational assistance program, the series includes these titles:

Accelerators Animals in Atomic Research Atomic Fuel Atomic Power Safety Atoms at the Science Fair Atoms in Agriculture Atoms, Nature, and Man Books on Atomic Energy for Adults and Children Careers in Atomic Energy Computers Controlled Nuclear Fusion Cryogenics, The Uncommon Cold Direct Conversion of Energy Fallout From Nuclear Tests Food Preservation by Irradiation Genetic Effects of Radiation Index to the UAS Series Lasers Microstructure of Matter Neutron Activation Analysis Nondestructive Testing Nuclear Clocks Nuclear Energy for Desalting Nuclear Power and Merchant Shipping Nuclear Power Plants Nuclear Propulsion for Space Nuclear Reactors Nuclear Terms, A Brief Glossary Our Atomic World Plowshare Plutonium Power from Radioisotopes Power Reactors in Small Packages Radioactive Wastes Radioisotopes and Life Processes Radioisotopes in Industry Radioisotopes in Medicine SNAP, Nuclear Space Reactors Sources of Nuclear Fuel Space Radiation Spectroscopy Synthetic Transuranium Elements The Atom and the Ocean The Chemistry of the Noble Gases The Elusive Neutrino The First Reactor The Natural Radiation Environment Whole Body Counters Your Body and Radiation

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FOOTNOTES

The early dangers from use of X rays, due to incomplete understanding and inadequate shielding, have now been eliminated.

Gamma rays are high-energy electromagnetic radiation.

Alpha particles are large positively charged particles, identical to helium nuclei. For definitions of unfamiliar words see Nuclear Terms, A Brief Glossary, a companion booklet in this series.

For detailed descriptions of these waves and particles, see Our Atomic World, a companion booklet in this series.

An equivalent statement is that nuclei of isotopes have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

See Appendix for a description of types of radiation-detection instruments.

See Radioisotopes and Life Processes, another booklet in this series, for a discussion of one area of biomedical research.

A positron is an “antielectron”. It has the mass of an electron but a positive charge.

A collimator is a focusing device consisting of a series of slits between blocks of shielding material. Consult the Appendix for descriptions of other instruments mentioned here.

The superscript m after this isotope indicates an excited state of the atom.

As radioactive nuclei disintegrate, they change to other radioactive forms—their “daughter” products. Every radioisotope is thus part of a chain or series of steps that ends with a stable form. Technetium-99^{m} is a daughter product of molybdenum-99; it decays by a process known as isomeric transition to a state of lower energy and longer half-life.

The curie is the basic unit of radiation intensity. One curie is approximately the amount of radioactivity in 1 gram of radium.