Animals and the atom

Radioactive isotopes are revealing new facts about animals, too. Scientists can follow changes which occur in various chemicals from the instant they enter an animal’s body until they leave it. To determine how a cow manufac­tures milk, radioactive isotopes were added to the animal’s food and injected into various parts of its body. Tracer elements are also used to study how hens make eggs. Scien­tists are using tracers to follow the activities and processes of mice, fish, flies, and other animals.

“Tagged” atoms are widely used in medicine. The discov­ery that iodine always collects in the thyroid gland led to the development of a new method of treating cancer of that organ. Radioactive iodine taken by a patient accumulates in the thyroid and its radiations kill the cancer cells.

Scientists are now searching for chemicals that accumu­late selectively in other organs of the body. When a harmless radioactive gas is taken into the lungs of a patient it is car­ried to the left side of the heart. If radioactivity is detected immediately in blood samples drawn from an artery supplied by the right side of the heart, surgeons know that there is a leak between the two chambers of the heart.

Research workers are also studying the harmful effect of radiation on the human body. Experiments which may cause malformations cannot be performed on humans. Much data valuable to medicine is therefore obtained by studying the effect of radiation upon animals.

Notes:

tracer element ….. treating …………. cancer ………….. lungs …………… leak …………….. malformation …...

меченые атомы лечение рак легкие течь, утечка неправильное развитие, образование

Telemeters in the atomic laboratory

It is very important that scientists know what goes on inside their nuclear reactors. But, because of the radiation, they can’t go inside and look for themselves.

The answer to their problem is a robot eye, in the form of a television camera. Being no more than glass and steel, the television eye isn’t hurt by radiation and helps scientists see the inside of the reactors.

In other cases, telemeters serve as the eyes of a robot used for handling radioactive materials. Again, men can go into store-rooms or radioactive materials and handle those materials. The radiation would kill them. Instead, they use the metal arms of a robot. From a safely shielded control room, scientists use robot arms and hands to pick up radioactive materials, move them around from place to place, and work on them. A television eye enables them to see what they are doing with the robot limbs.

Now, when the scientists need to move radioactive materials they send a robot train to where the material is stored. Using metal arms, operated from a safe distance, the scientists take the radioactive material out of the storage place and put it on a flat-car. The train is then started up by re­mote control. Traveling over a complex track layout, the train is switched and shunted until the radioactive material reaches its destination. Then another set of robot hands un­loads it and the train is moved off to await another mission. All this is made possible by robots working with other ro­bots. Robot eyes help the robot arms “see” and load the material on robot trains.

Notes:

being no more than glass and steel …... store-room ……… limbs ……………. layout ……………

представляя из себя всего лишь бетон и стекло склад конечности трасса