How rays affect living beings
The new research project as part of funding line 5 LOEWE Exploration (see below) is entitled "Influence of intermolecular energy transfer processes on radiation damage in biological tissue". The aim is to investigate which processes at the smallest level are responsible for the damage caused to biological organisms by high-energy radiation such as X-rays.
After all, it has long been known that living organisms suffer damage when they are exposed to radiation. The reason for this is the interaction of the radiation with the smallest particles, i.e. molecules, of which every organism is made up. However, little research has been done into exactly how radiation causes damage. The research project led by Dr. Andreas Hans from the Department of Experimental Physics IV will investigate precisely this role in more detail by exposing DNA-containing solutions to X-rays in a targeted manner. "Using established basic research methods, we will monitor the occurrence of known processes and then check what damage the DNA strands have actually suffered," explains Andreas Hans. The approach is completely new, as a direct biological evaluation of the radiation damage to biomolecules (DNA) caused by ionizing processes has never been carried out before. Research has so far been limited to basic atomic and molecular physics research.
If successful, the research will provide groundbreaking new findings in the field of radiation biology, which may have applications in the prevention of radiation damage and medical radiotherapy.
Background:
The State Offensive for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence (LOEWE for short) is an excellence program launched by the State of Hesse in 2008 to promote outstanding and forward-looking research projects with the aim of making universities and research institutions in Hesse more competitive both nationally and internationally. Funding line 5 LOEWE-Exploration gives researchers the freedom to pursue novel, highly innovative research ideas. With between 200,000 and 300,000 euros for two years, they can test an unconventional hypothesis or a radically new approach.
Contact:
Dr. Andreas Hans
University of Kassel
Leading scientist "Physics with synchrotron radiation"
Experimental Physics IV - Prof. Arno Ehresmann
Tel.: 0561 804 4062
hans[at]physik.uni-kassel[dot]de
www.ag-ehresmann.de