a Centre for Radiation Protection Research, Department of Molecular Biosciences , The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University , Stockholm , Sweden.
b Department of Radiobiology and Immunology , Institute of Biology, Jan Kochanowski University , Kielce , Poland.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2019 Jul;95(7):841-850. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2019.1589027. Epub 2019 Mar 21.
Radiation biology is a branch of the radiation research field which focuses on studying radiation effects in cells and organisms. Radiation can be used in biological investigations for two, mutually non-exclusive reasons: (1) to study biological processes by perturbing their functioning (qualitative approach) and (2) to assess consequences of radiation-induced damage (quantitative approach). While the former approach has a basic research character, the latter has an applied character that is driven by needs of medical applications and radiological protection. Radiation protection biology is defined in the sense of the second approach. The aim of the article is to provide a historical review of how radiation protection biology developed and how it influences radiological protection. While radiobiological investigations started immediately after the discovery of X-rays, the qualitative approach dominated until the end of World War II. After 1945, the nuclear weapons race and nuclear energy programs initiated quantitative radiobiological research. Radiation protection biology does not provide results from which radiation risks can be directly derived. Rather, it provides data that is necessary for understanding the nature of risks. Most recent years have seen, especially in Europe, a growing interest in coordinated studies on the effects of low radiation doses.
辐射生物学是辐射研究领域的一个分支，专注于研究细胞和生物体中的辐射效应。辐射可以出于两个相互排斥的原因被用于生物学研究：（1）通过干扰其功能来研究生物过程（定性方法），以及（2）评估辐射诱导损伤的后果（定量方法）。虽然前者具有基础研究的性质，但后者具有应用性质，这是由医疗应用和放射防护的需求驱动的。辐射防护生物学就是基于后一种方法来定义的。本文的目的是回顾辐射防护生物学是如何发展的，以及它是如何影响放射防护的。虽然放射生物学研究是在发现 X 射线后立即开始的，但定性方法一直占主导地位，直到第二次世界大战结束。1945 年以后，核武器竞赛和核能计划启动了定量放射生物学研究。辐射防护生物学并不能提供可以直接得出辐射风险的结果。相反，它提供了理解风险性质所必需的数据。近年来，尤其是在欧洲，人们对协调研究低剂量辐射的影响越来越感兴趣。
