Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Radiation hormesis is the conjecture that a low level of ionizing radiation (i.e., near the level of Earth's natural background radiation) helps "immunize" cells against DNA damage from other causes (such as free radicals or larger doses of ionizing radiation), and decreases the risk of cancer. The theory proposes that such low levels activate ...
It is unknown whether high-LET radiation could cause the same types of tumors as low-LET radiation, but differences should be expected. [9] The ratio of a dose of high-LET radiation to a dose of x-rays or gamma rays that produce the same biological effect are called relative biological effectiveness (RBE) factors. The types of tumors in humans ...
Ionizing radiation is generally harmful and potentially lethal to living things but can have health benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and thyrotoxicosis. Its most common impact is the induction of cancer with a latent period of years or decades after exposure.
Clear evidence establishes ultraviolet radiation, especially the non-ionizing medium wave UVB, as the cause of most non-melanoma skin cancers, which are the most common forms of cancer in the world. [4] UV rays can also cause wrinkles, liver spots, moles, and freckles.
X-rays normally have a lower energy than gamma rays, and an older convention was to define the boundary as a wavelength of 10 −11 m (or a photon energy of 100 keV). [14] That threshold was driven by historic limitations of older X-ray tubes and low awareness of isomeric transitions. Modern technologies and discoveries have shown an overlap ...
Ionizing radiation may be used to treat other cancers, but this may, in some cases, induce a second form of cancer. [74] Radiation can cause cancer in most parts of the body, in all animals, and at any age, although radiation-induced solid tumors usually take 10–15 years, and can take up to 40 years, to become clinically manifest, and ...
A growing body of evidence has shown links between cancer and drinking alcohol. In a warning Friday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said cancer risk increases with the number of drinks, but ...
The radiation types of greatest concern are thermal radiation, radio frequency energy, ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation. The most common type of radiation burn is a sunburn caused by UV radiation. High exposure to X-rays during diagnostic medical imaging or radiotherapy can also result in radiation burns.