Radio-protective Effects of Superoxide Dismutase
Petkau conducted further experiments with simulated cells in 1976 and found that the enzyme Superoxide dismutase protected the cells from free radicals generated by ionizing radiation, obviating the effects seen in his earlier experiment. Petkau also discovered that Superoxide dismutase was elevated in the leukocytes (white blood cells) in a sub-population of nuclear workers occupationally exposed to elevated radiation (ca. 10 mSv in 6 months), further supporting the hypothesis that Superoxide dismutase is a radioprotective agent. Thus, Petkau's original 1972 experiment apparently revealed the potential effects of ionizing radiation on cells without natural radioprotective mechanisms in place.
Read more about this topic: Petkau Effect
Famous quotes containing the word effects:
“Society’s double behavioral standard for women and for men is, in fact, a more effective deterrent than economic discrimination because it is more insidious, less tangible. Economic disadvantages involve ascertainable amounts, but the very nature of societal value judgments makes them harder to define, their effects harder to relate.”
—Anne Tucker (b. 1945)