The prime concern of radiation protection policy since 1959 has been to protect DNA from damage. In 1994 the United Nations Scientific Community on the Effects of Atomic Radiation focused on biosystem response to radiation with its report Adaptive Responses to Radiation of Cells and Organisms. The 1995 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements report Principles and Application o...

Allelopathy arises from the release of chemicals by one plant species that affect other species in its vicinity, usually to their detriment. Allelopathic effects have been demonstrated to be limiting factors for species distributions and ecological processes in some natural or agricultural communities. Based on the biphasic hormetic responses of plants to allelochemicals, ecological-limiting-fa...

Hormesis is a widely observed phenomenon in many branches of life sciences, ranging from toxicology studies to agronomy, with obvious public health and risk assessment implications. We address optimal experimental design strategies for determining the presence of hormesis in a controlled environment using the recently proposed Hunt-Bowman model. We propose alternative models that have an implic...

Aging is characterized by a stochastic accumulation of molecular damage, progressive failure of maintenance and repair, and consequent onset of age-related diseases. Applying hormesis in aging research and therapy is based on the principle of stimulation of maintenance and repair pathways by repeated exposure to mild stress. In a series of experimental studies we have shown that repetitive mild...

The phenomenon of hormesis is represented by mild stress-induced stimulation of maintenance and repair pathways resulting in beneficial effects for the cells and organisms. Anti-aging and life-prolonging effects of a wide variety of the so-called stressors, such as pro-oxidants, aldehydes, calorie restriction, irradiation, heat shock, and hypergravity, have been reported. Molecular mechanisms o...

Historically it has been shown repeatedly that single high doses of radiation do not allow a therapeutic differential between tumor and critical normal tissues but dose fractionation does. The purpose of conventional dose fractionation is to increase dose to the tumor while preserving normal tissue function. Tumors are generally irradiated with 2Gy dose per fraction delivered daily to a more or...

The concept of hormesis, or low-dose U-shaped responses, is now well established in toxicology and pharmacology but requires development in medicine and therapeutics. In doing so, care must be taken to not confuse metaphorical and chemical uses of the term hormesis. Low dose, continuous adaptive responses are fundamentally different than conventional pharmacology, and they may improve the scien...