Definition
Radiation biology is an interdisciplinary subject that describes the biological effects of ionizing radiations. It is based on studies in physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine.
History
The history of radiation biology started shortly after the discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Within short time, X-rays were being used not only to take pictures of the internal organs of living people but also to treat a variety of diseases. The discovery of natural radioactivity by Antoine Henri Becquerel in 1896 was the prerequisite for the detection of terrestrial and cosmic radiation. In 1903, Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of spontaneous radioactivity.” Interaction of radiation energy with living matter was observed, and the radiation...
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References and Further Reading
Baumstark-Khan C (1999) Estimation of environmental burdens by radiation. Radiologic units: from Gray to Sievert. In: Junk AK, Kundiev Y, Vitte P, Worgul BV (eds) Ocular radiation risk assessment in populations exposed to environmental radiation contamination. Kluwer, Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp 131–141
Baumstark-Khan C, Facius R (2002) Life under conditions of ionizing radiation. In: Horneck G, Baumstark-Khan C (eds) Astrobiology – the quest for the conditions of life. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, pp 261–284
Horneck G (2007) Space radiation biology. In: Brinckmann E (ed) Biology in space and life on Earth. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, pp 243–273
Horneck G, Baumstark-Khan C, Reitz G (2002) Space microbiology: effects of ionizing radiation on microorganisms in space. In: Britton G (ed) The encyclopedia of environmental microbiology. Wiley, New York, pp 2988–2996
Horneck G, Baumstark-Khan C, Facius R (2006) Radiation biology. In: Clément G, Slenska K (eds) Fundamentals of space biology – research on cells, animals, and plants in space. Space Technology Library with Microcosm Press and Springer, El Segundo, pp 291–336
Kiefer J, Kost M, Schenk-Meuser K (1996) Radiation biology. In: Moore D, Bie P, Oser H (eds) Biological and medical research in space. Springer, Berlin, pp 300–367
Moeller R, Reitz G, Berger T, Okayasu R, Nicholson WL, Horneck G (2010) Astrobiological aspects of the mutagenesis of cosmic radiation on bacterial spores. Astrobiology 10:509–521
Van Oostvelt P, Meesen G, Baert P, Poffijn A (2007) Evaluation of environmental radiation effects at the single cell level in space and on Earth. In: Brinckmann E (ed) Biology in space and life on Earth. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, pp 223–241
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Baumstark-Khan, C. (2015). Radiation Biology. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1332
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1332
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