THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES; the History of Radiation, Radioactivity, and Radiological Protection; Part 2, the 1940s

The function of adult-born mammalian neurons remains an active area of investigation. Ionizing radiation inhibits the birth of new neurons. Using computer tomography-guided focal irradiation (CFIR), three-dimensional anatomical targeting of specific neural progenitor populations can now be used to assess the functional role of adult...

Nuclear chemistry is the study of reactions that involve changes in nuclear structure. The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and, except for hydrogen, neutrons. The number of protons in the nucleus is called the atomic number (Z) of the element, and the sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons is the mass number (A). Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers are isotopes of the same element.
A nuclide of an element has a specific number of protons and...

Leucine rich repeat kinases 1 and 2 (LRRK1 and LRRK2) are multidomain proteins which encode both GTPase and kinase domains and which are phosphorylated in cells. Here, we present a protocol to label LRRK1 and LRRK2 in cells with 32P orthophosphate, thereby providing a means to measure their overall cellular phophorylation...

Radioactivity is a spontaneous disintegration of an unstable nuclide and is a random process, as all the nuclei in the sample do not decay simultaneously. The number of disintegrations per unit time is called the activity (A), which is directly proportional to the number of nuclei in the sample. The decay constant (λ) is an average probability of decay per nucleus in unit time.

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.

The most common types of radioactivity are α decay, β decay, γ decay, neutron emission, and electron capture.
Alpha (α) decay is the emission of an α particle from the nucleus. For example, polonium-210 undergoes α decay: