Argonne History
Biology: Living Organisms and Their Rhythms
At Argonne National Laboratory, research in the
biological sciences has always been an interdisciplinary effort. Teams of
nuclear and molecular physicists and chemists work with life scientists to
study the causes and potential cures of cancer and the effects of radiation on
biological systems. Scientists at the Metallurgical Laboratory, and then at
Argonne, pioneered the field of radiation research. Historical highlights
covered here include heat-loving bacteria,
circadian rhythm research that led to the Argonne
Anti-Jet-Lag Diet, pioneering studies of humans exposed to
radiation on the job, and early research on the causes
and origins of cancer.
In August 1954, a three-part spectrograph -- carbon arc light source,
reflector mirror and diffracting grating -- was designed at Argonne. It was the
largest and most versatile of its type in the country. On it, light was
separated into various wavelengths to produce a full band of color from the
invisible ultraviolet to the invisible infrared. Data on the interaction of
radiant energy with protoplasm was now possible. The spectrograph was an
important research tool for Argonne's innovative studies on circadian rhythms,
the clock-like cycles in cells that regulate basic life functions.
In 1953, Argonne biologists demonstrated for the first time the
existence of a biological clock in single protozoan cells. They also showed
that this clock could be unset and reset by light. This breakthrough discovery
led to the 1982 design and development of Argonne's Anti-Jet-Lag
Diet and
regimen to ease the effects of trans-continental travel and shiftwork rotation.
The Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag Diet continues to be widely used by frequent
fliers, and a new web site provides thousands of travelers a year with
free information about this
helpful traveler's aid.
Organisms that
thrive in extremes of temperatures and acidity are the interest of biologist
Jonathan Trent. These organisms, called thermophilic (heat-loving) archea, look
like bacteria but are not. They live in volcanic hot springs and certain areas
within the Earth's crust, where conditions are reminiscent of the primitive
Earth. In fact, it is believed that these organisms are similar to some of the
earliest life on this planet. The proteins inside thermophilic archea have
adapted to the harsh environment they call home. Argonne scientists are
studying these proteins to discover new industrial and biotechnological
processes and to identify uses in forensic medicine and cancer therapies.
(Click the image to see a larger photo.) |
One unusually important phenomenon at the Met Lab was radiation -- never
before had so many people been assembled to work with radioactive materials. By
mid-1942, an all-out research effort was underway on the effects of radiation
on animals -- and the term "health physics" was coined.
Argonne continued that trail-blazing work. Early studies with
transuranic elements, fission products and other radioisotopes led to
international radiation standards for the protection of humans exposed to these
new materials and to the current methods for removing radioactive materials
from the body. It is now rare to see human beings with substantial amounts of
radioactivity in their bodies. In earlier decades, however, significant numbers
of people ingested radium on the job.
Early studies of radium dial painters
at Argonne contrbuted to international standards to protect humans exposed to
radioactive materials. (Click the image to see a larger photo.) |
Among the groups of people studied by Argonne were painters of luminous
watch dials who used their lips to point radium-laden brushes. They experienced
an unusually high rate of bone cancer. These and many other people with body
burdens from radiation exposure received before radiation dangers were
understood were enlisted in Argonne's pioneering studies to determine the
maximum permissible levels of radioactive substances in the human body.
Argonne's first facility for measuring radioactivity in humans was an
"iron room" where during the 1950s the nation's most sensitive and accurate
radiation assays of humans were conducted. These tests allowed scientists to
determine the amounts, locations and identities of extremely small quantities
of radioactive materials in the body -- as little as one-billionth of a gram of
radium. Similar facilities were later used throughout the world.
Developed and widely emulated in the
1950s was the "Iron Room," Argonne's first facility for measuring radioactivity
in humans. (Click the image to see a larger photo.) |
Attempts to modify the effects of radiation led to development of the
first successful protective agent against x-rays, to techniques for removing
radioactive metals from the body, and to in-depth studies of tissue transplants
and the immune system. Cell transformation systems were used to study the
carcinogenic processes following exposure to either promoter or inhibitory
chemical agents. A chemo-prevention research program was developed to reduce
cancer risk to patients receiving radiation treatments.
Argonne also took a lead role in photobiology, especially in lethal and
mutagenic effects of near-ultraviolet radiation in bacteria. Argonne scientists
were the first to conduct in-depth examinations of the genetic effects of
exposure to near-ultraviolet radiation. The findings were critical to assessing
effects of exposure to the sun and the risks of exposure to artificial light
used in medicine and industry.
The search for a bone-cancer virus was undertaken by a team of
biologists which, in 1965, found a filterable agent that produced cancerous
tumors in mice. This discovery added a new tumor to the lexicon of known
virus-produced malignancies, as well as a strong suggestion of a viral origin
in all cancers. In 1975, the team isolated two bone-tumor viruses further
strengthening the hypothesis that viruses may play a role in the formation of
cancerous bone tumors.
Meanwhile, other cancer studies were achieving pace-setting advances.
In 1962, Argonne biologists discovered that white corpuscles in the blood
stream represent only a minute portion of those manufactured in the bone
marrow, an important clue to understanding leukemia. In 1969, two related
abnormal blood and urinary proteins from a bone-cancer patient were isolated
and crystallized. It was the first time an immunoglobin had been crystallized.
Characterized as an important breakthrough, the first immunoglobin
crystallization was part of Argonne research that greatly increased
understanding of the human immune response at the molecular level. Argonne
biologists were also the first to demonstrate an aminothiol-mediated gene
expression and its effects on DNA synthesis.
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