How does radiation cause mutation?

[NaptownKnight]

After playing the game STALKER for awhile a question has came up in my head. How does radiation from nukes cause mutation? Is it even possible?

[Lord Rahl]

Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm right. This is the theory they have nowadays. Radiation changes the actual DNA of a cell and that will cause the cell to mutate. If a person has mutated cells then the immune system doesn't know how to deal with it and so the mutated cells reproduce very quickly and eventually take over the body. This is what cancer is: a bunch of mutated cells.

[ajm317]

After playing the game STALKER for awhile a question has came up in my head. How does radiation from nukes cause mutation? Is it even possible?

If you're talking ugly monster or spider man mutation it doesn't. That's pure hollywood.

Lord Rahl is right. It changes your DNA randomly on a cellular level. This can lead to cancer.

[The Fish]

After playing the game STALKER for awhile a question has came up in my head. How does radiation from nukes cause mutation? Is it even possible?

The high energy particles from radioactive substances are able to physically damage cells on a number of levels. The main targets of ionizing radiation in the cell are the lipids that make up the cell membrane, the proteins (especially enzymes) that are responsible for cell function, and DNA. There are two major theories -which are not necessarily mutually exclusive- regarding the mechanism of damage.
1) The direct target theory holds that the radiant energy displaces electrons from the atoms that make up DNA and other cellular structures, altering it on an ultrastructural level.
2) The indirect target theory holds that the radiant energy causes hydrolysis of water molecules (H20), producing free radicals (which are VERY reactive molecules) which go on to disrupt cellular structures, including DNA.

The level of DNA damage produced by the radiant energy depends on the cell involved. Cells that are reproducing at a high rate (such as skin cells) usually have more susceptible DNA. This is because our DNA isn't just freely floating around in the nuclei of cells; it's bound with structural proteins to keep it protected and stabilized. But cells that reproduce at a high rate need to have ready access to their DNA, so the DNA isn't as "tied up" and protected as in other cell types. Therefore, exposure to radiation would be much worse for skin cells than for, say, brain neurons, because neurons very rarely divide (if at all). Their DNA is tightly bound up and therefore more protected.

In any case, the DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation almost always leads to cell death, either by directly damaging the cell's machinery so badly that it can't survive anymore, or by setting off the cell's own anti-cancer mechanisms. The latter consists of a number of proteins, led by one called P53, which detect DNA damage and engage DNA-fixing pathways. If the DNA can't be fixed, then these proteins order the cell to commit suicide, a function known as apoptosis. In order for a cell to become cancerous, then, there needs to be damage or change in the many anti-cancer pathways that protect us. Cancer cells are extraordinary because they have overcome a number of intrinsic hurdles that are specifically designed to keep cells from going haywire, PLUS the immune system, which is constantly on patrol for abnormal cells.

[NaptownKnight]

The high energy particles from radioactive substances are able to physically damage cells on a number of levels. The main targets of ionizing radiation in the cell are the lipids that make up the cell membrane, the proteins (especially enzymes) that are responsible for cell function, and DNA. There are two major theories -which are not necessarily mutually exclusive- regarding the mechanism of damage.
1) The direct target theory holds that the radiant energy displaces electrons from the atoms that make up DNA and other cellular structures, altering it on an ultrastructural level.
2) The indirect target theory holds that the radiant energy causes hydrolysis of water molecules (H20), producing free radicals (which are VERY reactive molecules) which go on to disrupt cellular structures, including DNA.

The level of DNA damage produced by the radiant energy depends on the cell involved. Cells that are reproducing at a high rate (such as skin cells) usually have more susceptible DNA. This is because our DNA isn't just freely floating around in the nuclei of cells; it's bound with structural proteins to keep it protected and stabilized. But cells that reproduce at a high rate need to have ready access to their DNA, so the DNA isn't as "tied up" and protected as in other cell types. Therefore, exposure to radiation would be much worse for skin cells than for, say, brain neurons, because neurons very rarely divide (if at all). Their DNA is tightly bound up and therefore more protected.

In any case, the DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation almost always leads to cell death, either by directly damaging the cell's machinery so badly that it can't survive anymore, or by setting off the cell's own anti-cancer mechanisms. The latter consists of a number of proteins, led by one called P53, which detect DNA damage and engage DNA-fixing pathways. If the DNA can't be fixed, then these proteins order the cell to commit suicide, a function known as apoptosis. In order for a cell to become cancerous, then, there needs to be damage or change in the many anti-cancer pathways that protect us. Cancer cells are extraordinary because they have overcome a number of intrinsic hurdles that are specifically designed to keep cells from going haywire, PLUS the immune system, which is constantly on patrol for abnormal cells.

This is an excellent explanation man, are you a doctor or something? Are the changes made to your DNA completely random or is there some kind of pattern? Imagine if we were able to control what was effected and how...

[mightyfenrir]

This is an excellent explanation man, are you a doctor or something? Are the changes made to your DNA completely random or is there some kind of pattern? Imagine if we were able to control what was effected and how...

Mutation as mutation is random. Mutation as gene therapy is under control and is used to introduce traits that are more positive. This can be introducing genes that don't produce sickle cells in blood to a patient that has them in hopes that the replacement will be effective and cure the sickle cell. Mutation, however, is completley random and could lead to good or bad things. It could give you cancer or do any other number of things. regardless, nuclear radiation is not the only source of mutation. While DNA and RNA sythesis contain many fail-safes to ensure proper encoding of genes, errors do occur regularly. These errors can lead to mutations and, ultimately, a few can lead to evolutionary advancements or diseases. Most mutations are neutral by nature though, as they mutation is a natural occurence in the cell.

[The Fish]

Therapeutically, radiation is a double-edged sword. While it can be carcinogenic, it is also a staple of anti-cancer therapy. It all has to do with doses. A high radiation dose actually poses very little cancer risk, because it simply destroys all the cells that are exposed to it. In addition, a limited area can be exposed to large radiation doses without a person dying, whereas a smaller dose delivered systemically can easily kill a person. This is the basis for anti-cancer radiation therapy; a small area of the body if exposed to high levels of radiation. This preferentially kills cancer cells, while the rest of the body is relatively unharmed. In this way, then, the most dangerous form of ionizing radiation (from a cancer standpoint) is a moderate dose. Enough to cause damage, but not so much as to wipe out the exposed cells.

And, as mightyfenrir has pointed out, radiation is a blunt instrument, not capable of causing specific beneficial mutations. It simply breaks up the DNA, and when it reforms, it can do so in incorrect sequences, causing random mutations. Gene therapy (which is still quite rudimentary and experimental) involves synthesizing the gene sequence you want, and delivering it to the target cells via a vector, usually a virus. This technology is still very much in infancy, though it represents a sort of holy grail in the fight against genetic disorders.

[tco]

I really thought this was a left over idea from the early days when we did not understand radiation. I mean John Stewart did a joke on this, it only way to get powers is to get by a radioactive animal, not by fallout. Also to you outside the scientific community realize that radiation is all forms of electromagnetic waves. So radio waves up to gamma are radiation.

[Simetrical]

This is the basis for anti-cancer radiation therapy; a small area of the body if exposed to high levels of radiation. This preferentially kills cancer cells, while the rest of the body is relatively unharmed.

Doesn't it also have to do with increased susceptibility for cells in the process of dividing (which are of course much more likely to be cancerous)? Or is that something else?

[The Fish]

Doesn't it also have to do with increased susceptibility for cells in the process of dividing (which are of course much more likely to be cancerous)? Or is that something else?

That's part of it. Just like skin cells are more susceptible to radiation damage than brain cells because they divide more frequently (and thus their DNA is less bound), cancer cells tend to have the same vulnerabilities.

The other part, though, is that cancer cells are actually very fragile. We tend to think of them as these super-cells that can resist anything, but actually their messed up DNA makes them much more likely to die from a radiation dose (mainly due to deranged DNA repair mechanisms) than normal cells. This is actually the basis of all anti-cancer treatment: more or less poison the patient, hoping the more susceptible cancer cells die before a critical number of normal cells do, and the person is cured.

[Chaigidel]

radiation can cause mutation the same way random galactic particles are theorized to be able too---- basically with radiation that damages you the stuff is actually breaking apart not just radiating energy--- particles are flowing through you not just wave form energy, these particles can tag your chromosomes or dna , and snap off a connection here or there, the mutation occurs when the dna, chromosome starts to repair itself, kinda rebuilding itself in an odd way perhaps, then your gets get flipper arms--- now that kind of think can only happen when actual particles are going through you, not just radiant energy-- I think

[The Fish]

Ionizing radiation encompasses electromagnetic wave forms as well. X-rays and gamma rays can cause significant damage, for example. It all depends on energy and dosage.

[NaptownKnight]

So is kemo therapy produced by electric waves or nuclear radiation?

[The Fish]

So is kemo therapy produced by electric waves or nuclear radiation?

Chemotherapy is totally separate from radiation therapy. While radiation therapy blasts cancer cells with high energy waves/particles to kill them, chemotherapy uses (as the name implies) chemical drugs, not radiation. These drugs target various pathways and structures of cancer cells (or fast-growing cells in general), and there are a lot of different ones with differing efficacy based on the specific cancer they are used against.
For example, methotrexate blocks the pathway required for cells to generate new DNA, thus preventing them from dividing. Vinca alkaloids also block division, but they do so by preventing the cell from assembling the structural proteins it needs to mechanically split one cell into two. So effective cancer therapy usually involves a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy; and within chemotherapy, usually combinations of drugs are used to target different parts of the cancer cell. It's an exhaustive, multi-pronged approach.

[Kanaric]

ya games like Stalker's portrayal and the game Fallout with ghouls.... that pretty much impossible from radiation. You DIE from mutation from that if you dont from the exposure.

A guy at the American Legion i used to work at was at the manhattan project and he had cancer that would always come back from it among other diseases. That is what it gives you.

[Quacky]

Dont forget that cancer is just one thing that can result from mutations. Its not like radiation gives you cancer. Its just if youre unlucky enough for those random mutations to occur within cell proliferation genes and growth factor/signalling pathway type genes then you end up with a cancer. So you end up with a cell that can grow uncontrollably and divide continually.

[Hells Bells]

radioactive particles hit the dna strands and break peices off.