The Earth was highly radioactive four billion years ago when life emerged. Even today, all humans are bombarded by 20,000 radiation strikes each second. Although high doses hazardous, organisms have evolved not only to tolerate lower-dose but also benefit it (hormesis). Hormesis is prevailing in species various respects. An example that hibakusha (Japanese A-bomb survivors) longer lifespans and...

The possible cancer risks caused by ionizing radiation doses of ~1 mSv or less are too small to be estimated directly from epidemiological data. The linear no-threshold (LNT) approach to estimating such risks involves using epidemiological data at higher (but still low) doses to establish an "anchor point", and then extrapolating the excess cancer risk linearly down from this point to the low d...

We consider a version of the symmetric Anderson impurity model (compactified) which has a non-Fermi liquid weak coupling regime. We find that in the Majorana fermion representation the perturbation theory can be conveniently developed in terms of Pfaffian determinants and we use this formalism to calculate the impurity free energy, self energies, and vertex functions. We also derive expressions...

The majority of the public in industrial countries believes that pollution and low doses of radiation are threats to good health. As a matter of fact, when these putative risks are compared to those originating from lifestyle, they appear very small. In particular, the risks associated with low doses of irradiation, even when they are assessed with the most pessimistic models, appear extremely ...

A multistage cancer model that describes the putative rate-limiting steps in carcinogenesis is developed and used to investigate the potential impact on cumulative lung cancer incidence of the hormesis mechanisms suggested by Feinendegen and Pollycove. In the model, radiation and endogenous processes damage the DNA of target cells in the lung. Some fraction of the misrepaired or unrepaired DNA ...

Purpose: To assess the radiation risk of cataracts among Chernobyl clean-up workers (liquidators), considering impact concomitant diseases on this and to determine dose threshold for development cataracts. Material methods: Radiation risks cataract incidence were studied in cohort liquidators consequences accident at nuclear power plant, observed system National Epidemiological Register (NRER) ...

The current system of radiation protection for humans is based on the linear-no-threshold (LNT) risk-assessment paradigm. Perceived harm to irradiated nuclear workers and the public is mainly reflected through calculated hypothetical increased cancers. The LNT-based system of protection employs easy-to-implement measures of radiation exposure. Such measures include the equivalent dose (a biolog...

An article by Jerome Puskin attempts to justify the continued use of the linear no-threshold (LNT) assumption in radiation protection and risk assessment. In view of the substantial and increasing amount of data that contradicts this assumption; it is difficult to understand the reason for endorsing this unscientific behavior, which severely constrains nuclear energy projects and the use of CT ...