Ionizing Radiation and the Living Cell, Alexander Hollaender and George E. Stapleton, Scientific American, 201: 95 (September 1959).
Radiation and Human Mutation, H. J. Muller, Scientific American, 193: 58 (November 1955).
Ionizing Radiation and Evolution, James F. Crow, Scientific American, 201: 138 (September 1959).
Motion Pictures
Radiation and the Population, 29 minutes, sound, black and white, 1962. Produced by the Argonne National Laboratory. This film explains how radiation causes mutations and how these mutations are passed on to succeeding generations. Mutation research is illustrated with results of experimentation on generations of mice. A discussion of work with fruit flies and induced mutations is also included. This film is available for loan without charge from the AEC Headquarters Film Library, Division of Public Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D. C. 20545 and from other AEC film libraries.
The following films were produced by the American Institute of Biological Sciences and may be rented from the Text-Film Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 330 West 42nd Street, New York 10036.
Mutation, 28 minutes, sound, color, 1962. This film discusses chromosomal and genetic mutations as applied to man. Muller’s work in inducing mutations by X rays is described.
These three films are 30 minutes long, have sound, are in black and white, and were released in 1960. They are part of a 48-film series that is correlated with the textbook, Principles of Genetics, (fifth edition), Edmund W. Sinnott, L. C. Dunn, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958, 459 pp., $8.50.
Mutagen-Induced Gene Mutation. The narrator of this film is Hermann J. Muller, who won a Nobel Prize in 1946 for his work in the field of genetics. The measurement of X-ray dose in roentgens and the dose required to double the spontaneous mutation rate in Drosophila and mice are discussed. The magnitude and meaning of permissible doses of high-energy radiation are discussed. Other mutagenic agents (ultraviolet light and chemical substances) are discussed, concluding with comments on the importance of gene mutation in the present and future.
Selection, Genetic Death and Genetic Radiation Damage. The narrator of this film is Theodosius Dobzhansky, the coauthor of this booklet. Genetic death is discussed in detail, as are examples of how genetic loads are changed subsequent to radiation exposure. While it is generally agreed that the great majority of mutants are harmful when homozygous, more evidence is needed about the beneficial and detrimental effects of mutants when heterozygous. In the case of sickle cell anemia, heterozygotes are adaptively superior to normal homozygotes. This makes for balanced polymorphism, by which a gene is retained in the population despite its lethality when homozygous because of the advantage it confers when heterozygous.