Brian Atkins wrote:
>
> There is an interesting article in the March 17 New Scientist called "Cruel
> to be Kind" about the research work of Thomas Johnson. His lab site is here:
>
> http://ibgwww.colorado.edu/tj-lab/index.html
>
> ...it talks about how a little bit of radiation and other kinds of stress
> might actually be a good thing. For instance studies of thousands of nuclear
> workers that are exposed to something like 10 times the normal background radiation
> live on average 17% longer than "normal" people, and have HALF the amount
> of cancer... The EPA is running a study now on whether low-level radiation
> would be beneficial...
It strikes me I've seen this idea floating around for decades,
perhaps as early as Pearson & Shaw's 1982 _Life Extension_. The
hypothesis being that a little radiation stimulates the production
of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase.
> ...by 2003 you may be encouraged to take vitamins containing radionuclides.
I'd be a little surprised if by 2003 any government body will be
encouraging anybody to take vitamins, let alone vitamins containing
radionuclides.
Jim F.
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