Sunday, March 34, 1958

THE MICHIGAN DAILY MAEA7INF

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S. i. 1,v . II- I Iy~f"%VI-"-' page Seventeen


Atomic Radiation Research

By JOHN AXE study by physicians over a ten- after year may ultimately produce program of research as well as will be doomed to disappointing
Daily Staff Writer year period on over 65,000 infants, as may defective descendants as a much patient research is necessary or non-conclusive results.
AMONG 'the University's many were "any clear and certain dif- much larger dose given all at the before the dilemma is solved. Nevertheless research is con-
colleges and departments, few ferences between children of ir- same time. This, the Department of Human tinued with the hope each project
are less publicized in relation to radiated parents and those whose Genetics takes in tride. They will help to clear up one more
their importance than the Medical parents had not been exposed to HE UNIVERSITY researcher realize research mus t be carried unknown secret about nature's
School's Department of Human radiation were not detected," ac- idic ated a greatly expanded on without fanfare, and often complicated world of heredity.
Genetics. cording to Prof. Neel.
Nestled next to the building "The only possible exception
housing the Social Research In- was a change in the sex ratio,
stitute on Catherine St., the with fewer daughters being born
genetics department's offices are to exposed fathers and fewer sons
hidden to all but the most prying to exposed mothers."
eye..
Despite the lack of fanfare, im- ALTHOUGH the study thus -
portant research projects, ranging yielded relatively little in the V ita .i VO
from distribution of blood types way of positive finding, it did,
throughout the world to the effects according to Prof. Neel, serve the
of ionizing atomic radiation upon important function of quieting ill- Forh ioand
future generations are carried on. founded rumors concerning the famousf o d11d
According to Prof. James V. genetic effects of the atomic
Neel, chairman of the Department bombs.
of Human Genetics, the depart- Immediately after the war, there
ment has just completed a typical were a number of wild and ex-
project, notably, a ten-year study aggerated stories dealing with the
of the delayed effects of ionizing possible effects of the bombs in 0 PATENT LEATHER
radiation on the children of the the next generation, many of these 0 NAVY
survivors of the Hiroshima and reports can now be discounted.
Nagasaki bombings., "BLACK
This particular study, Prof. Neel GENETICISTS now believe there ! RED
explains, was set up to answer the may be no actual threshold of
very pressing question of the sensi- exposure below which radiation $11

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BLOOD TYPING-H. Henry Gershowitz and Ellen Walgren read
blood types in a laboratory in the Department of Human Genetics.
tivity of human genes to the mu- doesn't produce mutation. "In
tagenic effects of irradiation and other words," Prof. Neel explained,
the relation of radiation induced "any amount of radiation produces
mutations to spontaneous muta- some mutation-the greater the
tions. amount, the more mutations re-
sult."
T HE STUDY was to be conducted If this theory is true, and there
by examining at birth each are many things in its favor, then
child born to Japanese parents any amount of radiation will re-
who had been exposed to radia- sult in some genetic changes.
tion in the atomic bombings. This fact, coupled with the
Prof. Neel explained examiners knowledge that radiation damage
sought to find out if the children's is directly proportional to the
sex or birth weight were greatly amount of radiation received and
changed. Information was also the belief that the genetic effect
sought on infant mortality at birth of radiation accumulates from
and occurrence of gross malforma- generation to generation, has led
tion. to the premise that a little radi<-
The infants were placed in dif- tion damage to a large number
ferent classifications according to of people can be as harmful to
degree of radiation to which their future generations as a great deal
parents had been exposed. They of exposure to a few,
then were compared with new "This is so," Prof. Neel ex-
born babies of unexposed parents plained, "because when a harmful
as to physical characteristics at mutation occurs it stays in the
birth. line of inheritance until the entire
line dies out."
'rHE RESULTS of the project, As a result, a small dose of
determined after a careful radiation which is repeated year

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