Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences have discovered a potent manganese(II)-based antioxidant complex of the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans that can be used to protect animals from radiation injury. During the experiment, the researchers administered the manganese peptide antioxidants (MDP) to a group of mice prior to exposing them to lethal gamma radiation. All mice that received MDP surivived, while the control group experienced 63% mortality and weight loss. Dr. Michael Daly, professor of pathology at USU, explained that protecting proteins is the way to survive from radiation, which Deinococcus radiodurans has the ability to do.  
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A new study has recently been released by the National Toxicology Program has shown that rats who have been exposed to radiation from cell phones over the course of two years are 5% more likely to develop cancer, when compared to a control group. While these numbers might seem unsettling, scientists across the country say these numbers cannot be trusted, since the radiation given off by cell phones is far smaller than other sources of radiation we come into contact with from day to day, including radiation from the sun. They also point to data indicating that cancer rates have remained
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With movies like The Martian gaining in popularity recently, scientists still have a few problems to tackle before a manned mission to Mars is possible. One of these problems is the huge amounts of radiation that astronauts would be exposed to on the surface of Mars. Since Mars lacks a strong atmosphere or magnetic field, its surface isn’t protected from harmful radiation like Earth’s is. The Curiosity rover is currently measuring radiation levels using a toaster-sized monitor on board. NASA has set a limit of no more than 3% chance of dying from radiation-induced cancer at a 95% confidence level
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Professor Wade Allison, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford where he has researched and taught for 40 years, has recently released a new publicly accessible book entitled “Nuclear is Life: A Cultural Revolution”. In his book, he urges governments to change their stances on radiation safety and illustrates how public opinions has created radiation safety policies that are overregulating the industry. Ever since the Cold War, the public has been terrified of radiation threats, and government legislation has responded to this by adopting an extremely precautious safety policy. Allison, however, shows that data collected from radiation leaks
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During her appearance on the Today Show, Geraldine Thomas, head of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank at Imperial College, London, explained that the scientific community drastically overestimated the real health consequences of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan. Five years after the disaster made headlines around the world, data from the affected areas is coming in, showing the radiation experienced was far smaller than previously calculated. While many compared the accident to an atomic weapon blast, 95% of the population received a mere 1 millisievert of gamma radiation – comparable to a tenth of an average CT scan. Thomas went
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The Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences was abolished in Uzbekistan and the Radiation Safety Center will be created. It will deactivate the nuclear reactor of the Nuclear Physics Institute as well as to ensure the proper storage, disposal and liquidation of storage facilities for radioactive materials on the country’s territory.   Full Article
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