Question

starting on Radiation-
Repair of UV induced damage: Photolyases: Nucleotide excision repair: Methylases: Xeroderma Pigmentosum: Identifying Mutants: Identifying chemical carcinogens: The Ames test:
There are 3 types of radiation that cause mutation: I need the difinitions

Answer 1

Any kind of ionizing radiation can cause mutations, but there's a lot that has to take place for a mutation to occur.

Radiation means to give off energy as waves or particles. IR gives off energy by knocking electron off atoms, which causes the atoms to charge. the charges on the atomic particles make ionizing radiation unstable and reactive.

Types of Ionizing Radiation

X-Rays/Gamma Rays

X-rays and gamma rays travel in the form of energy “packets” called photons. Just like light, photons travel in a straight line. X-rays come from a change in energy levels in an atom. Medical x-rays show bones and other dense structures in the body because these structures absorb the radiation; soft tissues like skin and organs don’t. Gamma rays are photons that come from the nucleus of the atom. Both types of ionizing radiation can pass through the human body if they have enough energy. This radiation can destroy whole cells and/or damage the DNA in the cell’s nucleus, which can lead to DNA mutations and the possibility of cancer.

Alpha particles

a positively charged nuclear particle identical with the nucleus of a helium atom that consists of two protons and two neutrons and is ejected at high speed in certain radioactive transformations. — called also alpha, alpha radiation, alpha ray. The alpha particles from radon (when inhaled) are about 20 times as effective as x-rays and gamma rays at causing mutation.

Beta particles

A beta particle, also called beta ray or beta radiation, is a high-energy, high-speed electron or positron emitted by the radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus during the process of beta decay.Beta particles can be ingested or inhaled if they contaminate water and food supplies, and ingestion causes even more severe damage. However, very small amounts of some kinds of beta particle-emitting elements (like iodine 131) are used in medicine to diagnose and treat diseases of the thyroid gland.