Studies of Health Effects from Nuclear Testing near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, Kazakhstan

The nuclear bomb testing conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan is of great importance for today’s radiation protection research, particularly in the area of low dose exposures. This type of radiation is of particular interest due to the lack of research in this field and how it impacts population health. In order to understand the possible health effects of nuclear bomb testing, it is important to determine what studies have been conducted on the effects of low dose exposure and dosimetry, and evaluate new epidemiologic data and biological material collected from populations living in proximity to the test site. With time, new epidemiological data has been made available, and it is possible that these data may be linked to biological samples. Next to linking existing and newly available data to examine health effects, the existing dosimetry system needs to be expanded and further developed to include residential areas, which have not yet been taken into account. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of previous studies evaluating the health effects of nuclear testing, including some information on dosimetry efforts, and pointing out directions for future epidemiologic studies

Big data in radiation biology and epidemiology; an overview of the historical and contemporary landscape of data and biomaterial archives.

Over the past 60 years a great number of very large datasets have been generated from the experimental exposure of animals to external radiation and internal contamination. This accumulation of 'big data' has been matched by increasingly large epidemiological studies from accidental and occupational radiation exposure, and from plants, humans and other animals affected by environmental contamination. We review the creation, sustainability and reuse of this legacy data, and discuss the importance of Open data and biomaterial archives for contemporary radiobiological sciences, radioecology and epidemiology. We find evidence for the ongoing utility of legacy datasets and biological materials, but that the availability of these resources depends on uncoordinated, often institutional, initiatives to curate and archive them. The importance of open data from contemporary experiments and studies is also very clear, and yet there are few stable platforms for their preservation, sharing, and reuse. We discuss the development of the ERA and STORE data sharing platforms for the scientific community, and their contribution to FAIR sharing of data. The contribution of funding agency and journal policies to the support of data sharing is critical for the maximum utilisation and reproducibility of publicly funded research, but this needs to be matched by training in data management and cultural changes in the attitudes of investigators to ensure the sustainability of the data and biomaterial commons.Euratom contract 66228

Childhood leukaemia risks: Towards a better understanding of unexplained results

Conclusiones al 4th International MELODI Workshop, celebrado en Helsinki (Finlandia) del 12 al 14 de septiembre de 2012.-- et al.Peer Reviewe

Establishing the Japan-Store House of Animal Radiobiology Experiments (J-SHARE), a large-scale necropsy and histopathology archive providing international access to important radiobiology data

Purpose: Projects evaluating the effects of radiation, within the National Institutes of Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), have focused on risk analyses for life shortening and cancer prevalence using laboratory animals. Genetic and epigenetic alterations in radiation-induced tumors have been also analyzed, with the aim of better understanding mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis. As well as the economic and practical limitations of repeating such large-scale experiments, ethical considerations make it vital that we store and share the pathological data and samples of the animal experiments for future use. We are now constructing such an archive called the Japan-Storehouse of Animal Radiobiology Experiments (J-SHARE). Methods: J-SHARE records include information such as detailed experimental protocols, necropsy records and photographs of organs at necropsy. For each animal organs and tumor tissues are dissected, and parts are stored as frozen samples at -80 ˚C. Samples fixed with formalin are also embedded in paraffin blocks for histopathological analyses. Digital copies of stained tissues are being systematically saved using a virtual slide system linked to original records by barcodes. Embedded and frozen tissues are available for molecular analysis. Conclusion: Similar archive systems for radiation biology have been also under construction in the USA and Europe, the Northwestern University Radiation Archive (NURA), and STORE at the BfS, respectively. The J-SHARE will be linked with the sister-archives and made available for collaborative research to institutions and universities all over the world

Studies of Health Effects from Nuclear Testing near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, Kazakhstan

The nuclear bomb testing conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan is of great importance for today’s radiation protection research, particularly in the area of low dose exposures. This type of radiation is of particular interest due to the lack of research in this field and how it impacts population health. In order to understand the possible health effects of nuclear bomb testing, it is important to determine what studies have been conducted on the effects of low dose exposure and dosimetry, and evaluate new epidemiologic data and biological material collected from populations living in proximity to the test site. With time, new epidemiological data has been made available, and it is possible that these data may be linked to biological samples. Next to linking existing and newly available data to examine health effects, the existing dosimetry system needs to be expanded and further developed to include residential areas, which have not yet been taken into account. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of previous studies evaluating the health effects of nuclear testing, including some information on dosimetry efforts, and pointing out directions for future epidemiologic studies

Advanced Omics and Radiobiological Tissue Archives: The Future in the Past

Archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues and their related diagnostic records are an invaluable source of biological information. The archival samples can be used for retrospective investigation of molecular fingerprints and biomarkers of diseases and susceptibility. Radiobiological archives were set up not only following clinical performance such as cancer diagnosis and therapy but also after accidental and occupational radiation exposure events where autopsies or cancer biopsies were sampled. These biobanks provide unique and often irreplaceable materials for the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-related biological effects. In recent years, the application of rapidly evolving “omics” platforms, including transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and sequencing, to FFPE tissues has gained increasing interest as an alternative to fresh/frozen tissue. However, omics profiling of FFPE samples remains a challenge mainly due to the condition and duration of tissue fixation and storage, and the extraction methods of biomolecules. Although biobanking has a long history in radiation research, the application of omics to profile FFPE samples available in radiobiological archives is still young. Application of the advanced omics technologies on archival materials provides a new opportunity to understand and quantify the biological effects of radiation exposure. These newly generated omics data can be well integrated into results obtained from earlier experimental and epidemiological analyses to shape a powerful strategy for modelling and evaluating radiation effects on health outcomes. This review aims to give an overview of the unique properties of radiation biobanks and their potential impact on radiation biology studies. Studies recently performed on FFPE samples from radiobiology archives using advanced omics are summarized. Furthermore, the compatibility of archived FFPE tissues for omics analysis and the major challenges that lie ahead are discussed