Latest Radioactivity Stories
University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that low doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that one of the fathers of radiation genetics, Nobel Prize winner Hermann Muller, knowingly lied when he claimed in 1946 that there is no safe level of radiation exposure. Calabrese's interpretation of this history is supported by letters and other materials he has retrieved,...
Beginning Sunday, September 18, 2011 at NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, space scientists from the University of New Hampshire will attempt to send a balloon up to 130,000 feet with a one-ton instrument payload to measure gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the remains of a supernova explosion that lies 6,500 light years from Earth. The launch is highly dependent on weather and wind conditions, and the launch window closes at the end of next week. The Gamma Ray...
The amount of radiation released during the Fukushima nuclear disaster was so great that the level of atmospheric radioactive aerosols in Washington state was 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than normal levels in the week following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the disaster. Despite the increase, the levels were still well below the amount considered harmful to humans and they posed no health risks to residents at the time, according to researchers at The University of...
Two remarkable pulsed-power machines used to test the nation's defenses against atomic weapons have surpassed milestones at Sandia National Laboratories: 4,000 firings, called 'shots,' on the Saturn accelerator and 9,000 shots on the HERMES III accelerator. Saturn — originally projected to last 5 to 10 years — began operating in 1987. Its major function has been to produce X-rays to test the effectiveness of countermeasures used to protect electronics and other materials against X-ray...
Trio of Experts Outline Eight Key Concerns: Ongoing Health Woes in Japan, Unaddressed Design Flaws and Inadequate U.S. Regulatory Response Seen As Troubling. WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Regulatory, scientific and health experts agree: The "3/11" Fukushima reactor disaster is still ongoing six month later ... and some major lessons are in danger of going unheeded. Sunday marks the six-month anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear reactor crisis. In anticipation of...
Cardiologists who perform heart operations using x-ray guided catheters are exposed to ionizing radiation at levels two to three times higher per year than those experienced by radiologists. Now, new research has found the first evidence that these constant, high levels of exposure cause changes at cell level that might represent the body's way of protecting itself against the harmful effects of radiation. The research, published online today in the European Heart Journal, found that among...
GLEN ALLEN, Va., Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets has just released a new report on the radiation detection materials market. The report quantifies the market for scintillation, thin-film, and semiconductor detection materials used for domestic security, military, medical imaging, nuclear power, science and geophysical applications. Also included is an in-depth assessment of the opportunities for a broad range of materials including sodium iodide, lanthanum...
Sunbathers have long known that melanin in their skin cells provides protection from the damage caused by visible and ultraviolet light. More recent studies have shown that melanin, which is produced by multitudes of the planet's life forms, also gives some species protection from ionizing radiation. In certain microbes, in particular some organisms from near the former nuclear reactor facilities in Chernobyl, melanin has even been linked to increased growth in the presence of ionizing...
In both an attempt to raise the spirits of Japanese residents still reeling from the March earthquake and tsunami disaster and to absorb radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was damaged in the event, Buddhist monks have planted hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of sunflowers and other plants in the surrounding area of their temple and Fukushima prefecture.The Fukushima power plant, some 30 miles away from the Buddhist Joenji temple, suffered a series of...
CieAura of the Bay Area is offering EMF chips in cellular phones that can protect people from the harmful radiation. San Leandro, CA (PRWEB) August 18, 2011 Today most people cannot function without their cell phone. Whether it is for work, for home or for fun and games, EMF radiation protection chips, offered by Bay Area's CieAura, are becoming important components for cell phones these days. "Do you have a cell phone and can't live without it? Do you use a cell phone for work? Do you...
Latest Radioactivity Reference Libraries
Nuclear fallout, or just simply fallout, known also as Black Rain, is the residual radioactive material that is propelled into the upper atmosphere after a nuclear black or a nuclear reaction that is conducted in an unshielded facility. It is so called because it "fall out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave have passed. It most commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash that is created when a nuclear weapon explodes, but such dust can also come from a damaged nuclear...
Solar Radiation -- Solar radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun due to nuclear fusion reactions. Fusion is the process whereby stars produce huge quantities of energy from the fusion of hydrogen or helium, in one of the most efficient processes of energy generation. The radiation referred to is usually electromagnetic energy, particularly infrared radiation, visible light, and ultraviolet. Some stars are known to emit radiation of other wavelengths. Solar neutrinos are a...
