Radiation Dose Rate and Mutation Frequency, W. L. Russell and others, Science, 128: 1546 (December 19, 1958).
Ionizing Radiation and the Living Cell, Alexander Hollaender and George E. Stapleton, Scientific American, 201: 95 (September 1959).
Radiation and Human Mutation, H. J. Muller, Scientific American, 193: 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
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.
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
Transcriber’s Notes
- Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
- Where possible, UTF superscript and subscript numbers are used; some e-reader fonts may not support these characters.
- In the text version only, underlined or italicized text is delimited by _underscores_.
- In the text version only, superscript text is preceded by caret and delimited by ^{brackets}.
- In the text version only, subscripted text is preceded by underscore and delimited by _{brackets}.
- In the text version only, added a brief label to each illustration; and for graphs, provided tabular summaries of the data where possible.