UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
Are all objects on Earth constantly radiating particles harmful for living things?
Question Date: 2020-11-02
Answer 1:

It is true that living organisms have traces of the slightly radioactive carbon-14 or potassium-40. The earth itself emits a little radon. There is a constant level of background radiation, but it's so low that our bodies are adapted to handle it (i.e. cancer-causing genetic mutations are largely corrected by cellular mechanisms evolved to prevent cancer). This background radiation does not really pose any sizeable cancer risk.



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use