A large enough dose of ionizing radiation causes changes in hereditary apparatus of a living cell mutations arise, various kinds unwanted rearrangement and breakage of chromosomes. To prevent such changes typically use chemicals. A first application for this purpose electric current, scientists have shown, that the effects of certain conditions can protect living cells from radiation damage.
The model the researchers were the beans wiki. For experiments were selected seedlings the length of a few centimeters and nuked them a dose of 250 x-rays. But some plants affected by the electric current before irradiation, on the other after exposure. Then seedlings, 22 hours and kept in a thermostat, and after that examined under the microscope.
Here are some of the results obtained. After a "clean" exposure (no exposure current number of cells with chromosomal abnormalities is 47 percent much more than control plants (in cells, not exposed irradiation, mutations are formed only in two percent of cases). When the plant processed current number of affected cells was significantly smaller than in the case of "pure" exposure - the result depended on the conditions under which the plant is operated with an electric current. Best protective properties electricity was manifested in the case when the spine before irradiation trays to the positive electrode (the anode) is then defeats were almost two times less.
The mechanism of this phenomenon is still not fully explained, but the authors believe that the protective effect of the current is associated with the redistribution of ions between different tissues plants.
Authors: N. Grigorieva, V. Shahbazov