Foreword 



The Subcommittee on Radiobiology of the Committee on 

 Nuclear Science of the National Research Council had, for some 

 time, considered the need for a symposium on radiobiology. At 

 the first meeting of the special committee, appointed to consider 

 the nature and scope of the symposium, the need and desirability 

 of such a symposium were very thoroughly reviewed. It was 

 readily apparent that radiological and other societies had been 

 conducting and were continuing to conduct meetings in which 

 various aspects of radiobiology had definite representation. In 

 addition to this, the Atomic Energy Commission was holding 

 meetings on a reg-ular schedule at its various facihties in which 

 current work and progress in radiobiology were presented. It 

 was the consensus of the committee that additional meetings of 

 the character outlined above would serve little purpose and could 

 hardly augment these meetings in any substantial fashion. In 

 this regard it was felt that the Subcommittee on Radiobiology 

 might properly recommend to the Atomic Energy Commission, to 

 the Radiological Societies, and to the Federated Societies for 

 Experimental Biology a continuation of their usual conferences 

 and programs at their regularly established meetings. 



The committee turned its attention in another direction and 

 after long dehberation and examination of the various facets of the 

 problem concluded that a symposium, if it were to be held, should 

 concern itself with the basic aspects of the radiation effects on 

 living cells. It was decided that the objective would be a thorough 

 examination of the fundamental concepts that e.xist in radiobiology. 

 Since the interaction of ionizing radiation in living matter should 

 be considered in as orderly a manner as possible, it was further 

 decided that the subdivisions and their order would be essentially 

 as follows: 



First, a survey of the physical interaction of ionizing radiation 

 and matter. Second, a discussion and elucidation of the chemical 



