Difference between revisions of "Radiation Hormesis"
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However, damage to cells occurs all the time, and they are constantly repairing themselves. Logically, radiation damage to cells, that is below the rate at which cells repair themselves would have little effect. There were three basic ideas on how to model radiation damage: 'Linear No Threshold', the 'Threshold Model', and 'Hormesis'. | However, damage to cells occurs all the time, and they are constantly repairing themselves. Logically, radiation damage to cells, that is below the rate at which cells repair themselves would have little effect. There were three basic ideas on how to model radiation damage: 'Linear No Threshold', the 'Threshold Model', and 'Hormesis'. | ||
| + | [[File:LNT_Hormesis_TM.png|framed|3 Ways to Model Radiation Damage]] | ||
==Samples of Research== | ==Samples of Research== | ||
Revision as of 16:09, 17 November 2025
Hormesis is a medical term that notes that many substances show positive effects to health at low dosages, but are dangerous at high dosages. Most drugs fall into this category. [1]. Hormesis was discovered by Hugo Schulz, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Greifsalf in the mid 1880's. He discovered that formic acid (which would kill yeast at high doses) was helpful in their growth at very low dosages. This discovery was so surprising, that he and his assistants checked, and rechecked their results for a couple of years before publishing.
For example, the drug aspirin (salicylate acid), is helpful at low doses, but at high doses is lethal. (In 2004, there were 20,000 cases of moderate aspirin poisoning, and 43 deaths.) [2]
There is overwhelming evidence that very low levels of radiation are helpful to human health. [3]
Contents
Discussion
Studying the effects of massive doses of radiation in a very low time period (from survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima, and Nagasaki) it was found that the chance of cancer increased linearly. The larger the dose, the greater the chance of cancer.
However, damage to cells occurs all the time, and they are constantly repairing themselves. Logically, radiation damage to cells, that is below the rate at which cells repair themselves would have little effect. There were three basic ideas on how to model radiation damage: 'Linear No Threshold', the 'Threshold Model', and 'Hormesis'.
Samples of Research
Speculation of Why Radiation is Helpful
Life evolved (and is still evolving) in an environment filled with background radiation. (In Earth's early history, this background radiation dose was higher.) It is not surprising that some metabolic pathways would come to depend on a certain amount of radiation in the environment. That said, most speculation as to why low doses of radiation is helpful falls into two categories: 'Exercising the Immune System' and 'Stimulating Repair Mechanisms'.
Exercising the Immune System
Stimulating Repair Mechanisms
Stem cell therapy found that the stem cells injected into humans aged rapidly, but if irradiated, they lived longer. The radiation triggered improvements in proliferation, mobility, and chondorgenic differentiation capacity, (which improved cell longevity). This is thought to have been caused by stimulating repair mechanisms in these cells. [4]
References
- ↑ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1897/07-541.1
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylate_poisoning
- ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2477686/
- ↑ https://www.cnl.ca/health-science-2/low-dose-radiation-research/#:~:text=There%20is%20growing%20evidence%20that,help%20protect%20people%20against%20diseases.
