Instruments required to study the biological effects of low level radiation on fish models

关于辐射和污染物对人体的影响已经进行了大量的研究，然而，传统的观点是，如果人类受到保护，其他动物也会受到保护。最近的研究表明，情况可能并非如此。现在我们知道，有些动物对污染物比其他动物敏感得多，这意味着动物生活的生态系统可能会发生负面变化，导致系统不平衡。关于低剂量辐射照射对鱼类等水生生物的影响的研究很少。这项拨款提案要求资金用于购买所需的设备，以支持一个独特的研究项目，旨在了解极低水平的辐射与其他损害非人类生物体DNA的污染物的影响。我们打算通过制造特殊的染色体探针，直接观察暴露在辐射中的生物体DNA受到的损害，并利用我们实验室目前正在开发的突变测定法，观察这种暴露对几代后代的影响。这将有助于我们了解低水平辐射对水生生态系统的长期影响。为了实现这些目标，需要一些重要的研究工具和仪器，如专门的孵化器，使我们能够培养来自鱼类和其他非人类生物体的细胞培养物。

A great deal of research has been conducted on the effects of radiation and pollutants in humans,however thetraditional belief has been that if man is protected than other animals will be as well. Recent research indicates that this may not be the case. It is now known that some animals are a great deal more sensitive to pollutants than others, which means that the ecosystems in which animals live could be negatively altered resulting in an unbalanced system. Very little research is available for the effects of low dose radiation exposures on aquatic organisms such as fish. This grant proposal requests funds to purchase equipment needed to support a unique research program aimed at understanding the effects of very low levels of radiation combined with other pollutants that damage DNA in non-human organisms. We intend to look at damage to DNA directly in exposed organisms by making special chromosome probes, and also look at the effects of that exposure in several generations of their offspring using mutation assays currently under development in our laboratory. This will help us understand the long-term effects of low level radiation on aquatic ecosystems. In order to accomplish these goals, several important research tools and instruments are required, such specialized incubators that will allow us to grow cell cultures derived from the fish and other non-human organisms.