Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 87. The levels of radiation contamination in seafood have gradually decreased over time. Since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, regular measurements of radioactive contamination in sea products have been conducted once a week to evaluate the effect of airborne and waterborne radiation on seafood. These measurements have indicated that, as with air dose rate and agricultural products, the contamination of sea products has gradually decreased year by year. Furthermore, even in 2016, the radiation contamination of some fish, mainly bottom-dwelling fishes such as dabs and Pacific cod in a particular area of the sea, h

Author:Karim Moutchou Medical Student, Fez Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Morocco, the birth place of millions immigrants living around the world, is seeing a new rise in the figures of “VIP immigration” as an important part of its most needed population is deciding to leave the country for a better social and more importantly professional life. Moroccan doctors and medical students are interested more and more in Germany as a primary destination. The German nation seems to have opened its arms for foreign doctors more than any other country in the last decades. This situation has raised at the same time hope and concerns among everyone involved on both sides of the Mediterranean and it pr

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 85. DNA can be restored after damage Inside each cell in the human body, there is a blueprint that contains the information necessary for that cell to survive. As we previously explained, the original copy of this blueprint is called DNA. Radiation exposure and other factors can cause DNA damage, but a cell can repair a certain amount of damage. However, when DNA damage is too severe to repair, the damaged cell's function is arrested, and it is discharged from the body. The body's DNA-damage response can be compared to the repair of a damaged car: When a car breaks down, its owner will try their best to repair it, but they wi

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 83. Risk factors other than radiation can also cause DNA damage Inside the cells constructing our body, there is a blueprint that contains the information necessary for the cells to survive. We previously explained that the original copy of the blueprint is called DNA (https://www.mricg.info/single-post/2019/06/06/Dr-Tsubokuras-Radiation-Lecture-Vol41). We have to prevent DNA from getting destroyed, and we cannot be missing any part of it. However, each DNA strand in our cells is damaged by a variety of causes approximately ten thousand to one million times per day. Every time DNA is damaged, specific materials in the cells w

Author:Min-Sun Song (Sunny Song) When I think of my grandpa, a certain scenery and smell first comes to my mind. A white wall and hallway in hospital’s ward and a smell of disinfectant spread lightly in there. In the midst of that moment, I used to be a naïve and excited child. The place was my playground, whether other people were sick or not. I used to p lay top-spinning game in the hallway all day long whenever I visited my grandpa. Also, it was the place where I met his last moments. Maybe that is the reason why I feel like I’m going on a picnic and also feel sorrow at the same time when I visit that hospital ward. My grandpa was a colonel in ROK Army for several decades. He participated

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 81. Risk factors of cancer could be something other than radiation exposure Development of cancer induced by radiation exposure is considered to occur, irrespective of the “threshold limit value,” to protect us from radiation exposure. In other words, cancer develops in proportion to the total dose of radiation exposure received. This effect of radiation exposure is called a “stochastic effect,” as the radiation exposure elevates the stochasticity or possibility of cancer. This concept is very different from that for nosebleeds or bleeding: These symptoms only appear following an extremely high level of radiation exposure. Th