Douglas Grahn, Ph.D. 



MAMMALIAN RADIATION GENETICS 



The best qualification of the mouse for studies on radiation genetics is that it has 

 certain attributes of our best experimental means to the end, Drosophila, and the 

 experimental end itself, man. Although it may be many years before murine genetics 

 will have the esoteric qualities of Drosophila genetics, the mouse offers us the opportunity 

 of obtaining quantitatively reliable data on radiation effects that can be checked 

 against Drosophila for theoretical consistency and extrapolated to man without zoo- 

 logical inconsistency. Other mammalian species have been and are presently being 

 employed, such as the rat, the hamster, swine, sheep, bovines, and even the monkey. 

 But, for reasons of economy and general genetic and biological background, the mouse 

 will certainly continue to reign supreme for some time in the field of mammalian 

 radiation genetics. 



Prior to World War II, radiation genetics progressed in an orderly fashion as a 

 relatively subsidiary area of interest in the field of genetics. With the advent of the 

 atomic age and the potentiality of widespread contamination of the biosphere with 

 the by-products of nuclear energy applications, radiation genetics rapidly became a 

 major field of research activity and interest. Fortunately, many different sources of 

 radiation have become available for critical experimental purposes, but as part of the 

 price of technical advancement, many sources of radiation have also become an 

 ubiquitious part of our general environment. The quantitative and realistic evalua- 

 tion of the potential cost of nuclear energy to man's genetic worth has thus become 

 highly important. 



Those familiar with modern radiation biology are well aware of the complexities 

 of this cross-bred science. In many instances, the combined talents of diverse bio- 

 logical and physical scientists are required. The study of radiation effects is not often 



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