MOTIVATION Chromatin breakage by ionizing radiation is relevant to studies of carcinogenesis, tumor radiotherapy, biodosimetry and molecular biology. This article focuses on computer analysis of chromosome irradiation in mammlian cells. METHODS Polymer physics and Monte Carlo numerical methods are used to develop a coarse-grained computational approach. Chromatin is modeled as a random walk o...

Giant magnetoresistive (GMR) nanosensors provide a novel approach for measuring protein concentrations in blood for medical diagnosis. Using an in vivo mouse radiation model, we developed protocols for measuring Flt3 ligand (Flt3lg) and serum amyloid A1 (Saa1) in small amounts of blood collected during the first week after X-ray exposures of sham, 0.1, 1, 2, 3, or 6 Gy. Flt3lg concentrations sh...

Biological dosimetry, based on the analysis of dicentric chromosomes, is an internationally established, independent method applied in the area of radiation protection. The biodosimetry is mainly performed, in addition to physical dosimetry, with the aim of individual dose assessment, especially after unclear or suspected radiation dose exposures. However, a new biodosimetrical challenge has em...

Radiation exposure leads to a large number of victims who seek medical help in the first hours. To provide medical care, it is necessary to correctly establish the fact and dose of radiation by bioindication and biodosimetry methods. Lymphocytes containing nuclear anomalies are easily detected cells of peripheral blood and are suitable as objects of bioindication in the case of radioactive expo...

Molecular indicators of the absorbed dose of ionizing radiation are powerful tools in biodosimetry. The studies reported here were undertaken with the motivation to find such a marker among the mo lecules involved in ataxia-telangiectasia mutated kinase- dependent signalling induced by ionizing radiation (ATM-kinase, checkpoint kinase-2, protein p53, and oncoprotein Mdm2). In our previous work ...

A summary is provided of presentations and discussions at the NASA Radiation Biomarker Workshop held September 27-28, 2007 at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. Invited speakers were distinguished scientists representing key sectors of the radiation research community. Speakers addressed recent developments in the biomarker and biotechnology fields that may provide new opportunitie...

For more than two decades, chromosome aberration analysis has been used in biomonitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to ionising radiation. Chromosome aberration analysis is a method used to detect unstable aberrations in the lymphocytes of irradiated personnel. In turn, stable chromosome aberrations that arise some time after exposure are detected using the multicolour fluoresce...