Life Atomic

A History of Radioisotopes in Science and Medicine

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Reference, History, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences
Cover of the book Life Atomic by Angela N. H. Creager, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Angela N. H. Creager ISBN: 9780226017945
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: October 2, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Angela N. H. Creager
ISBN: 9780226017945
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: October 2, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

After World War II, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began mass-producing radioisotopes, sending out nearly 64,000 shipments of radioactive materials to scientists and physicians by 1955. Even as the atomic bomb became the focus of Cold War anxiety, radioisotopes represented the government’s efforts to harness the power of the atom for peace—advancing medicine, domestic energy, and foreign relations.

           

In Life Atomic, Angela N. H. Creager tells the story of how these radioisotopes, which were simultaneously scientific tools and political icons, transformed biomedicine and ecology. Government-produced radioisotopes provided physicians with new tools for diagnosis and therapy, specifically cancer therapy, and enabled biologists to trace molecular transformations. Yet the government’s attempt to present radioisotopes as marvelous dividends of the atomic age was undercut in the 1950s by the fallout debates, as scientists and citizens recognized the hazards of low-level radiation. Creager reveals that growing consciousness of the danger of radioactivity did not reduce the demand for radioisotopes at hospitals and laboratories, but it did change their popular representation from a therapeutic agent to an environmental poison. She then demonstrates how, by the late twentieth century, public fear of radioactivity overshadowed any appreciation of the positive consequences of the AEC’s provision of radioisotopes for research and medicine.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

After World War II, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began mass-producing radioisotopes, sending out nearly 64,000 shipments of radioactive materials to scientists and physicians by 1955. Even as the atomic bomb became the focus of Cold War anxiety, radioisotopes represented the government’s efforts to harness the power of the atom for peace—advancing medicine, domestic energy, and foreign relations.

           

In Life Atomic, Angela N. H. Creager tells the story of how these radioisotopes, which were simultaneously scientific tools and political icons, transformed biomedicine and ecology. Government-produced radioisotopes provided physicians with new tools for diagnosis and therapy, specifically cancer therapy, and enabled biologists to trace molecular transformations. Yet the government’s attempt to present radioisotopes as marvelous dividends of the atomic age was undercut in the 1950s by the fallout debates, as scientists and citizens recognized the hazards of low-level radiation. Creager reveals that growing consciousness of the danger of radioactivity did not reduce the demand for radioisotopes at hospitals and laboratories, but it did change their popular representation from a therapeutic agent to an environmental poison. She then demonstrates how, by the late twentieth century, public fear of radioactivity overshadowed any appreciation of the positive consequences of the AEC’s provision of radioisotopes for research and medicine.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Gentleman Troubadours and Andean Pop Stars by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book The Constitution in the Supreme Court by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book A Listener's Guide to Free Improvisation by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book The Ancient Shore by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book The Book of Eggs by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book Trading Democracy for Justice by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book The Future of Healthcare Reform in the United States by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book Model Behavior by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book No Way Out by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book Reconstructing the Commercial Republic by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book The Taxi-Dance Hall by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book Receptive Bodies by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book Data-Centric Biology by Angela N. H. Creager
Cover of the book What Do Pictures Want? by Angela N. H. Creager
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy