A mathematical analysis of the mortality kinetics of Drosophila melanogaster exposed to gamma radiation.

A mathematical model with nonlinear time-varying characteristics has been developed which describes the relationship between the kinetics of natural aging and radiation-induced delayed mortality. Based on this model, it appears that there is an immediate effect of radiation which is continuously, but nonlinearly, increasing in severity. Two phases appear in this variation, corresponding to the two phases (plateau and dying phase) of the mortality curves for control populations. Accordingly, S/E (survival time post-irradiation/further expectation of life) can best be interpreted as an increasing function during the plateau phase of normal mortality curves, which levels off during the ensuing dying phase.