The production of chromosome structural changes by radiation: an update of Lea (1946), Chapter VI

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
No one can read the papers of the early radiation biologists without being impressed, almost awed, by the depth and thoroughness with which they tackled their topics. Every ounce of information is extracted from the results, every possible avenue of interpretation and implication is explored. Douglas Lea's Actions of Radiations on Living Cells (first edition, 1946) is a classic example. It is a work that has had a profound influence on radiobiology and is still widely quoted today. Many of Lea's fundamental concepts were based on the qualitative and quantitative production of visible chromosome structural changes, particularly in the plant Tradescantia. In accord with Sherlock Holmes' aphorism, before theorizing, he summarizes and evaluates in Chapter VI the experimental facts. In the intervening years an enormous amount of radiation cytogenetics has been done and it is fair to ask the question “How stands the foundation?”. I do not intend to review the whole field in this paper but, using the same section headings Lea used, to comment on and update, in the light of more recent work, some of the statements and ideas he developed. The format of the comments presupposes that the reader has a copy of Lea (1946) to hand.† Before looking at the individual sections, it will be helpful to describe some of the conceptual changes that have occurred since Lea wrote his book and that influence current thinking.

This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit: