Nuclear energy in the service of biomedicine: The US Atomic Energy Commission's radioisotope program, 1946-1950
Nuclear energy in the service of biomedicine: The US Atomic Energy Commission's radioisotope program, 1946-1950
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DOI：
10.1007/s10739-006-9108-2
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发表时间：
2006-11-01
影响因子：
0.8
通讯作者：
Creager, Angela N. H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Creager, Angela N. H.
放射性同位素被广泛用作生物医学研究和治疗的工具，成为战后生命科学“物理学家战争”的主要后果之一。参与曼哈顿项目的科学家提出，利用战时炸弹项目的基础设施来开发一个由政府运营的放射性同位素分配项目，这是他们在战后倡导民用原子能的努力的一部分。在原子能法案通过后，在原子能委员会(AEC)正式成立之前，曼哈顿计划开始从橡树岭运送同位素。科学家和医生将这些反应堆产生的同位素用于许多用途，与20世纪30年代和40年代初回旋加速器产生的放射性同位素所开创的用途相同。早期AEC运输的大部分是放射性碘和放射性磷，用于评估甲状腺功能、诊断医学疾病和照射肿瘤。研究人员和政界人士都公开称赞放射性同位素在治疗疾病，特别是癌症方面的潜力。然而，事实证明，同位素在治疗癌症方面不如预期的成功，而在医学诊断方面更成功。在研究方面，反应堆产生的放射性同位素为生物学家提供了追踪从代谢途径到生态系统的分子变化的新工具。美国政府对同位素的生产和推广刺激了国内外科学家和医生的消费，以至于在战后，同位素成为实验室和临床使用的常规元素。在战后早期，放射性同位素标志着政府致力于利用原子促进和平，特别是通过对生物、医学和农业的贡献。
The widespread adoption of radioisotopes as tools in biomedical research and therapy became one of the major consequences of the "physicists' war" for postwar life science. Scientists in the Manhattan Project, as part of their efforts to advocate for civilian uses of atomic energy after the war, proposed using infrastructure from the wartime bomb project to develop a government-run radioisotope distribution program. After the Atomic Energy Bill was passed and before the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was formally established, the Manhattan Project began shipping isotopes from Oak Ridge. Scientists and physicians put these reactor-produced isotopes to many of the same uses that had been pioneered with cyclotron-generated radioisotopes in the 1930s and early 1940s. The majority of early AEC shipments were radioiodine and radiophosphorus, employed to evaluate thyroid function, diagnose medical disorders, and irradiate tumors. Both researchers and politicians lauded radioisotopes publicly for their potential in curing diseases, particularly cancer. However, isotopes proved less successful than anticipated in treating cancer and more successful in medical diagnostics. On the research side, reactor-generated radioisotopes equipped biologists with new tools to trace molecular transformations from metabolic pathways to ecosystems. The U.S. government's production and promotion of isotopes stimulated their consumption by scientists and physicians (both domestic and abroad), such that in the postwar period isotopes became routine elements of laboratory and clinical use. In the early postwar years, radioisotopes signified the government's commitment to harness the atom for peace, particularly through contributions to biology, medicine, and agriculture.