The Effects of Radiation on Humans
All of you might know about cancer but thats not the only disease related to radiation. Radiation has many downsides and effects. In this paragraph I will tell you them. There are two types of diseases caused by radiation they are stochastic (long term exposure) and non stochastic (short term). Cancer and mutations are stochastic effects but something like radiation sickness is non stochastic because it is caused by being exposed to high doses of radiation in a short period of time. So now I will tell you about how radiation causes mutations. Mutations are caused by radiation because
radiation changes the DNA or the blueprints of the body, when that body part
corresponding of the DNA that was changed was hurt it will grow back different.
This happens because the cells reproducing the body part will look finding the
wrong “blueprint” and using that to make the body part thus changing it. Radiation sickness being a non stochastic disease has symptoms right away. Some of these symptoms are Radiation sickness
side effects are nausea, weakness, hair loss, skin burns, lessened organ
function, and serious effects is death. This is the rem taken to get radiation sickness staring at mild which is 100 to 200 rem, medium radiation sickness at 200 to 300 rem, serious 300 to 400 rem, 400 to 1000 rem is acute sickness early death in weeks or months, 1000 to 1500 rem is acute illness and early death.
The Effects of Radiation on The Environment and Animals
As you may know animals can get cancer as well as humans but you may have not known radiations effects on plants. Radiation causes cancer in animals as you may know but it can also cause mutations such as extra limbs or deformities to already existing limbs. It can also get rid of limbs as seen in a video of a Chernobyl cooling pond where a Wels Catfish has its tail basically gone and it is 3 times bigger than regular Wels Catfish. In Chernobyl specifically some birds have adapted to the high levels of radiation but are still affected by it. I have found a science fair project entered into the California state science fair that shows that radiation slows the growth of plants and that might affect the animals eating it and the seeds being spread because they have might have not had proper genes and have mutations. page by Alex K