The initial effects of ionizing radiations on cells

New information on basic cellular structures and their function, provided by the development of modern biology, opens up new prospects in research on the course of events leading from the absorption of ionizing energy in molecules to the final morphological and pathophysiological changes in cells. In particular, progress in molecular biology such as the discovery of the structure and function of nucleic acids or the mechanism of the transcription and translation of genetic information, provides the key for novel approaches for the study of the primary processes induced by radiation. Detailed knowledge of these processes is a necessary requirement for understanding the development of the ultimate biological radiation injury, and forms the basis of our attempts to control such damage.