The Genetic Effects of Radiation - 4

58 (November 1955).
Ionizing Radiation and Evolution, James F. Crow, _Scientific American_,
201: 138 (September 1959).

Motion Pictures
_Radiation and the Population_, 29 minutes, sound, black and white,
1962. Produced by the Argonne National Laboratory. This film explains
how radiation causes mutations and how these mutations are passed on
to succeeding generations. Mutation research is illustrated with
results of experimentation on generations of mice. A discussion of
work with fruit flies and induced mutations is also included. This
film is available for loan without charge from the AEC Headquarters
Film Library, Division of Public Information, U. S. Atomic Energy
Commission, Washington, D. C. 20545 and from other AEC film libraries.
The following films were produced by the American Institute of
Biological Sciences and may be rented from the Text-Film Division,
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 330 West 42nd Street, New York 10036.
_Mutation_, 28 minutes, sound, color, 1962. This film discusses
chromosomal and genetic mutations as applied to man. Muller’s work in
inducing mutations by X rays is described.
These three films are 30 minutes long, have sound, are in black and
white, and were released in 1960. They are part of a 48-film series
that is correlated with the textbook, _Principles of Genetics_, (fifth
edition), Edmund W. Sinnott, L. C. Dunn, and Theodosius Dobzhansky,
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958, 459 pp., $8.50.
_Mutagen-Induced Gene Mutation._ The narrator of this film is Hermann J.
Muller, who won a Nobel Prize in 1946 for his work in the field of
genetics. The measurement of X-ray dose in roentgens and the dose
required to double the spontaneous mutation rate in _Drosophila_ and
mice are discussed. The magnitude and meaning of permissible doses of
high-energy radiation are discussed. Other mutagenic agents
(ultraviolet light and chemical substances) are discussed, concluding
with comments on the importance of gene mutation in the present and
future.
_Selection, Genetic Death and Genetic Radiation Damage._ The narrator of
this film is Theodosius Dobzhansky, the coauthor of this booklet.
Genetic death is discussed in detail, as are examples of how genetic
loads are changed subsequent to radiation exposure. While it is
generally agreed that the great majority of mutants are harmful when
homozygous, more evidence is needed about the beneficial and
detrimental effects of mutants when heterozygous. In the case of
sickle cell anemia, heterozygotes are adaptively superior to normal
homozygotes. This makes for balanced polymorphism, by which a gene is
retained in the population despite its lethality when homozygous
because of the advantage it confers when heterozygous.
_Gene Structure and Gene Action._ The lecturer of this film is G. W.
Beadle of Cornell University. The Watson-Crick structure of DNA is
discussed in terms of mutation. Several tests of the chain separation
hypothesis for DNA replication are described (experiments with heavy
DNA, radioactive chromosomes, and the replication of DNA in vitro).
This working hypothesis is presented: The coded information in DNA is
transferred to RNA, which serves as a template for polypeptide
synthesis.
PHOTO CREDITS
Dr. Asimov’s photograph by David R. Phillips, courtesy _Chemical and
Engineering News_
Page
4 James German, M.D.
6 Bausch & Lomb, Inc.
12 James German, M.D.
20 Indiana University
24 Robert C. Filz, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories
25 J. K. Boggild, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen University
26 Brookhaven National University
28, 31 Herman Yagoda, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories
41 Oak Ridge National Laboratory


Footnotes

[1]For more detail about cell division, see _Radioisotopes and Life
Processes_, another booklet in this series.
[2]This is more commonly known as “Mongolism” or “Mongolian idiocy”
though it has nothing to do with the Mongolian people.
[3]Actually, all waves have some of the characteristics of particles and
all particles have some of the characteristics of waves. Usually,
however, the radiation is predominantly one or the other and little
confusion arises under ordinary circumstances in speaking of waves
and particles as though they were separate phenomena.
[4]For more about this subject, see _Radioisotopes in Industry_ and
_Radioisotopes in Medicine_, companion booklets in this series.
[5]For more about this subject, see _Fallout from Nuclear Tests_,
another booklet in this series.
[6]For details on _somatic_ effects of radiation, see _Your Body and
Radiation_, a companion booklet in this series.
[7]Estimated average exposures to the gonads, based on 1963 report of
Federal Radiation Council.
[8]One thousandth of a rem.
[9]Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the precautions taken in
the atomic energy industry are such that absorption of radiation is
not as severe a problem as one might suspect. Fully 95% of those
engaged in this work receive less than 1 rem a year. Only 1% receive
more than 5 rems.

UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
_Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman_
_James T. Ramey_
_Dr. Gerald F. Tape_
_Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit_
_Wilfrid E. Johnson_
_ONE OF A SERIES ON
UNDERSTANDING THE ATOM_
Nuclear energy is playing a vital role in the life of every man, woman,
and child in the United States today. In the years ahead it will affect
increasingly all the peoples of the earth. It is essential that all
Americans gain an understanding of this vital force if they are to
discharge thoughtfully their responsibilities as citizens and if they
are to realize fully the myriad benefits that nuclear energy offers
them.
The United States Atomic Energy Commission provides this booklet to help
you achieve such understanding.
[Illustration: Edward J. Brunenkant]
Edward J. Brunenkant
Director
Division of Technical Information

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:
NUCLEAR POWER AND MERCHANT SHIPPING
PLUTONIUM
OUR ATOMIC WORLD
NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR DESALTING
CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION
WHOLE BODY COUNTERS
PLOWSHARE
POPULAR BOOKS ON NUCLEAR SCIENCE
SNAP, NUCLEAR SPACE REACTORS
NUCLEAR REACTORS
ATOMS, NATURE, AND MAN
MICROSTRUCTURE OF MATTER
SYNTHETIC TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
COMPUTERS
RESEARCH REACTORS
GENETIC EFFECTS OF RADIATION
POWER FROM RADIOISOTOPES
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
RARE EARTHS
FOOD PRESERVATION BY IRRADIATION
FALLOUT FROM NUCLEAR TESTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES IN INDUSTRY
ATOMS AT THE SCIENCE FAIR
RADIOISOTOPES AND LIFE PROCESSES
ATOMIC FUEL
ATOMIC POWER SAFETY
DIRECT CONVERSION OF ENERGY
CAREERS IN ATOMIC ENERGY
RADIOISOTOPES IN MEDICINE
ACCELERATORS
NUCLEAR TERMS, A BRIEF GLOSSARY
NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
ATOMS IN AGRICULTURE
POWER REACTORS IN SMALL PACKAGES
Single copies of any booklet may be obtained free by writing to:
USAEC, P. O. BOX 62, OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE 37830
Requests for more than three titles generally can not be honored.
Complete sets of the series are available to school and public
librarians, and to teachers who can make them available for reference or
for use by groups. Requests should be made on school or library
letterheads and indicate the proposed use.
Students and teachers who need publications on specific topics related
to nuclear science, or references to other reading material, may also
write to the Oak Ridge address. Requests should state the topic of
interest exactly, and the use intended.
_IMPORTANT_: All requests should include the “Zip Code” in the address
to which the material is to be mailed.

Printed in the United States of America

USAEC Division of Technical Information Extension, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
September 1966


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