The health effects of radiation

In 1999, the US Department of Energy (DOE) established a research program to look at the effects of small amounts of radiation on organisms. Specifically, the DOE low-dose radiation research program is designed to study the interaction between low doses of radiation and biological systems. Initial results led people to appreciate various factors that conflict with the assumptions of the old paradigm. Three of the most important are adaptive response, bystander effects and genomic instability.