h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey WD!

I've written a couple of things for Two Bit Trigger Pumping Moron's University Project on NBC warfare. Since these things don't go through Peer Review, I thought I'd better get someone with another pair of eyes and some specialist knowledge to cast a glance over what I'd done.

Warning! This stuff is more than a bit depressing. But I would appreciate it if you could have a look at this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A652763

and let me know if I've dropped any clangers (or soup dragons for that matter) or missed out anything vital.

I know you're hitting the books fairly hard at the mo (or at least you should be...) so no hurry.

Thanks...

H.

You're quite lucky in fact - the notes which I'm battering to within an inch of its life are infact DNA damage and its repair, the cell cycle and cancer... so here comes the flood....

It is a nice, concise overview of the different types of radiation and their effects on the body - acute and chronic. I have to say, I know very little about radiation sickness per se, but if you can wait until after the 20th, and when the has gone, then I'll try to find out more.

There are a few points (here comes the pedantic rant...)

>'Radiation basically has one of two harmful effects - radiation sickness and cancer.'

I think that is a bit of a sweeping statement to make - radiation has many beneficial uses because of its effects... as you've covered the different types later on, I'll give you a few examples later

>Cancer and longer term radiation

I was under the impression that since gamma is the least ionising of all the radiations - even though it is the most penetrating, that low dose gamma is relatively safe... but I could be wrong - I'm not a physicist

What I'd like to see is a bit more on how radiation specifically affects the cells - kind of a bottom up approach, to 'this is why it is so feared and so effective' kind of thing. I can't help it - I'm a medic

I don't know if you want the info - but I'll put it down here anyway - feel free to discard

Ionising radiation causes its damage by creating free radicals in cells (free radicals are atoms that possess unpaired electrons). What happens is that these free radicals damage the cell at the DNA level, swapping the bits of code about, breaking up the single and double strands of the DNA helix. However, this alone does not cause cancer; it merely predisposes to it.

The cell can detect the change and either repair it, or kill itself to prevent the mistake getting through. This creates that oncogene - a mutant gene which promotes cancerous behaviour. Other genes such as the unmemorable p53, checks the DNA fidelity at certain checkpoints, can also get corrupted, meaning that a mistake is more likely to get through. Hence more faulty cells proliferate. However, it is still not a cancer. The rate at which faulty cells grow is still governed by growth inhibitors. If the radiation has taken out them too, it may mean that they grow a little faster, but it is still not cancer. Due to these prior mutations, more mutations are likely to occur, eventually leading to the formation of early signs of cancer.

I'm really on aren't I? In short, it really means that ionising radiation alone cannot cause cancer, however, a large dose may be enough to possibly take out quite a few tumour suppresor genes, but even then, as cancer is a multistep process, it is only a predisposition and not an outright cause.

Ok, I said previously about the advantages of radiation - it may not be wholly relevant to the entry at hand, but just to inject a bit of balance to it...

Alpha and beta radiation is highly ionising, and also, by its very nature, only affects local tissues. This is useful when wanting to kill cancers (ironic really) in certain areas, but mainly in thyroid problems, specifically, when the thyroid gland is producing too much of the hormone thyroxine.

The thyroid gland is the only gland in the body to utilise iodine. The element is an integral part of the hormone, thyroxine. So if the thyroid has a tumour, or is generally producuing too much, then thee are two options. Surgery - too invasive, or radiotherapy. This uses a radio-labelled tablet of iodine, which has either alpha or beta radiation (I can't remember...) with a short half-life. This is preferencially taken up in the thyroid, and as it only affects local tissues, only the thyroid is affected.

I've gone on for too long - back to the books I guess

It is really good - my only real major change would be the first sentence... just a bit of a sweeping statement I feel; otherwise

Stay ,
WD (who now has the words 'Don't Panic' in a large, friendly font, stuck above her desk)

Hiya!

I'm just going to bump this up for your attention!

How are you by the way?

Thanks for reminding me, I'll get on it!

As for how I am, very well, thanks. Living in interesting times. How's the revision going, or shouldn't I ask?

H.

I saw what you had written about your brief (yet noticable) hiatus from h2g2...

Revision is I mean, which bright examiner had the bright idea to set the pass mark to 80%? hell.

I'm not in the best of moods to be quite honest... I have today's lectures on 'Consciousness' to revise, and got hypnotised today... which was

At the moment, I have a headache. But on the whole, revision is going fine--I'm not just hitting the books, I'm lashing them to within an inch of their life.

Sorry about the words, but I'm a bit highly strung... as is the rest of my year.

I'm focussing on the week after my exams, where I shall single handedly reinvigourate the UK economy by purchasing and consuming vast amounts of alcoholic beverages.

Hey Witster!

Congrats! TWO entries on the front page for a whole weekend! Do you realise that between us we're responsible for almost two thirds of the new entries this weekend? (I wrote the lyocell one, well, I started it...)

Hope you're not *too* drunk after the end of exams... how did you get on, or shouldn't I ask?

H.

Hiya!

Well, I've been having a well-earned rest after the Monday and Tuesday that was... and on Friday I drank quite a lot

Two entries at the same time - well, I'm quite pleased about that Well done for the Lyocell one

The exams could have been a lot worse... but I'll find out how I did later on in the term... fingers crossed!

Oh - and I have bought 'The Man Who...' - not the Travis album of course, but I got it delivered to the wrong address, all the way back home... luckily, I'll be going home in a fortnight, so hopefully I can get to read it soon

Anyway, I'd better do some ironing - funny how household stuff tends to pile up during the weeks preceeding exams?

Stay ,
WD

Ironing? What that?

H.
Crumpled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F48874?thread=156388&post=1553896#p1553896 Bet you wish you'd written this? H.

Brilliant

I shall over and comment on it now... with a plug for Defecation I feel...



H!

Saw your deconstruction of the entry that shall not be mentioned by me here Quite thorough

ing to the fart entry

Hey Witty!

long time, no ping.

Just dropped by to let you know, in case you didn't already, that you're officially one of the site's TOP TWENTY RESEARCHERS! How cool is that? A712982

Congrats!

H.