Radiobiology 

(also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of

clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living
things, especially health effects of radiation. Ionizing radiation is generally harmful and potentially
lethal to living things but can have health benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer
and thyrotoxicosis. Its most common impact is the induction of cancer with a latent period of years or
decades after exposure. High doses can cause visually dramatic radiation burns, and/or rapid fatality
through acute radiation syndrome. Controlled doses are used for medical imaging and radiotherapy.

In general, ionizing radiation is harmful and potentially lethal to living beings but can have health
benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and thyrotoxicosis.
Most adverse health effects of radiation exposure may be grouped in two general categories:

 deterministic effects (harmful tissue reactions) due in large part to the killing/ malfunction
of cells following high doses; and
 stochastic effects, i.e., cancer and heritable effects involving either cancer development
in exposed individuals owing to mutation of somatic cells or heritable disease in their
offspring owing to mutation of reproductive (germ) cells.[1]
Stochastic[edit]
Some effects of ionizing radiation on human health are stochastic, meaning that their probability of
occurrence increases with dose, while the severity is independent of dose.[2] Radiation-induced
cancer, teratogenesis, cognitive decline, and heart disease are all examples of stochastic effects.
Its most common impact is the stochastic induction of cancer with a latent period of years or
decades after exposure. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative
models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most widely accepted model posits that
the incidence of cancers due to ionizing radiation increases linearly with effective radiation dose at a
rate of 5.5% per sievert.[3] If this linear model is correct, then natural background radiation is the most
hazardous source of radiation to general public health, followed by medical imaging as a close
second. Other stochastic effects of ionizing radiation are teratogenesis, cognitive decline, and heart
disease.
Quantitative data on the effects of ionizing radiation on human health is relatively limited compared
to other medical conditions because of the low number of cases to date, and because of the
stochastic nature of some of the effects. Stochastic effects can only be measured through large
epidemiological studies where enough data has been collected to remove confounding factors such
as smoking habits and other lifestyle factors. The richest source of high-quality data comes from the
study of Japanese atomic bomb survivors. In vitro and animal experiments are informative,
but radioresistance varies greatly across species.
The added lifetime risk of developing cancer by a single abdominal CT of 8 mSv is estimated to be
0.05%, or 1 one in 2,000.[4]