Radioactive remains

Radioactivity is still escaping from the cells of those killed by atomic bombs in Nagasaki City, after 64 years since the disaster. A group of Japanese experts took pictures of these rays.

" In terms of pathology, we have shown that humans can be exposed to radiation from within. This finding could help scientists find the effects of radiation on health ," Kazuko Shichijo, a professor at Nagasaki University (Japan), spoke.

Ms. Shichijo and colleagues studied cell samples taken from the remains of seven people who died in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. These victims - aged between 20 and 70 - were 0 from the center of the explosion. 5 to 1 km. They did not lose their lives in the day the bomb was thrown, but died later because of acute illness.

Alpha rays (black streaks) emanate from the nucleus of the bone, kidney and lung cells of the atomic bomb victim. (Photo: Japan Times)

In the photos, the team saw dark colored lines emanating from the nucleus of the victim's bones, kidneys and lungs . These lines are alpha rays - the type of radiation produced when radioactive substances decay . The alpha rays in the image are about the same length as the alpha rays emitted from plutonium in the atomic bomb that the US threw at Nagasaki.

Photographs of Nagasaki University are the first evidence that the remains of the victims died because the atomic bomb still emitted radiation after more than 60 years since the disaster.

Since the end of World War II, many scientists have studied the effects of radiation exposure from within the body, but they have not yielded any significant results. The success of Nagasaki University demonstrates that atomic bomb victims are exposed to radiation from both inside and outside the body.

" Plutonium penetrates the body when people are exposed to it from the outside. But research by Nagasaki University suggests it can penetrate into cells and emit radiation from inside the body, " Nanao Kamada, a expert on radiation biology of Hiroshima University, commented.