The atomic bomb survivor cancer mortality data have been used in the past to justify the use of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model for estimating the carcinogenic effects of low dose radiation. An analysis of the recently updated atomic bomb survivor cancer mortality dose-response data shows that the data no longer support the LNT model but are consistent with a radiation hormesis model when a...

There is considerable evidence from experimental studies in animals, as well as from clinical reports, that low-dose radiation hormesis is effective for the treatment of cancer and ulcerative colitis. In this study, we present 3 case reports that support the clinical efficacy of low-dose radiation hormesis in patients with these diseases. First, a patient with prostate cancer who had undergone ...

Hormesis has been defined as a dose-response relationship in which there is a stimulatory response at low doses but an inhibiting response at high doses, resulting in a U- or inverted U-shaped dose response. Until now, regulatory agencies have been reluctant to address this new insight or adjusted their routines for regulating such substances. Should regulators change their principles of decisi...

This paper evaluated the frequency, magnitude and dose/concentration range of hormesis in four species: The aquatic plant Lemna minor, the micro-alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and the two terrestrial plants Tripleurospermum inodorum and Stellaria media exposed to nine herbicides and one fungicide and binary mixtures thereof. In total 687 dose-response curves were included in the database....

Instrument choice--the comparison of technology standards, performance standards, taxes and tradable permits--has been a major topic in environmental law and environmental economics. Most analyses assume that emissions and health effects are positively and linearly related. If they are not, this complicates the instrument choice analysis. This article analyses the effects of a nonlinear dose-re...

The word “hormesis” is derived from the Greek word “hormaein” meaning: “to excite,” which is the origin of the word “hormone.” In 1902, the English physiologist, E. Starling, discovered that an acid extract from the human duodenum contained a substance designated as secretin that, when discharged into the bloodstream, stimulated the pancreas to release its secretions when food has passed throug...

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...

Accumulation of metals by plants is an important area investigation in plant ecology and evolution as well soil contamination/phytoremediation practices. This paper reports that hormetic-biphasic dose-response relationships were commonly observed for multiple agents (i.e. arsenic, cadmium, chromium, fluoride, lead, zinc) 20 species (hyper)accumulator studies. The hormetic stimulation was relate...