8.2 Biological effects of ionizing radiation

We hear many seemingly contradictory things about the biological effects of ionizing radiation. It can cause cancer, burns, and hair loss, yet it is used to treat and even cure cancer. How do we understand these effects? Once again, there is an underlying simplicity in nature, even in complicated biological organisms. All the effects of ionizing radiation on biological tissue can be understood by knowing that ionizing radiation affects molecules within cells, particularly DNA molecules.

Let us take a brief look at molecules within cells and how cells operate. Cells have long, double-helical DNA molecules containing chemical codes called genetic codes that govern the function and processes undertaken by the cell. It is for unraveling the double-helical structure of DNA that James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize. Damage to DNA consists of breaks in chemical bonds or other changes in the structural features of the DNA chain, leading to changes in the genetic code. In human cells, we can have as many as a million individual instances of damage to DNA per cell per day. It is remarkable that DNA contains codes that check whether the DNA is damaged or can repair itself. It is like an auto check and repair mechanism. This repair ability of DNA is vital for maintaining the integrity of the genetic code and for the normal functioning of the entire organism. It should be constantly active and needs to respond rapidly. The rate of DNA repair depends on various factors such as the cell type and age of the cell. A cell with a damaged ability to repair DNA, which could have been induced by ionizing radiation, can do one of the following:

• The cell can go into an irreversible state of dormancy, known as senescence.
• The cell can commit suicide, known as programmed cell death.
• The cell can go into unregulated cell division leading to tumors and cancers.

Since ionizing radiation damages the DNA, which is critical in cell reproduction, it has its greatest effect on cells that rapidly reproduce, including most types of cancer. Thus, cancer cells are more sensitive to radiation than normal cells and can be killed by it easily. Cancer is characterized by a malfunction of cell reproduction, and can also be caused by ionizing radiation. Without contradiction, ionizing radiation can be both a cure and a cause.

To discuss quantitatively the biological effects of ionizing radiation, we need a radiation dose unit that is directly related to those effects. All effects of radiation are assumed to be directly proportional to the amount of ionization produced in the biological organism. The amount of ionization is in turn proportional to the amount of deposited energy. Therefore, we define a radiation dose unit called the rad    , as $\mathrm{1/100}$ of a joule of ionizing energy deposited per kilogram of tissue, which is

For example, if a 50.0-kg person is exposed to ionizing radiation over her entire body and she absorbs 1.00 J, then her whole-body radiation dose is