Russian scientists have discovered that bacteria and mammals respond similarly to low doses of radiation. Cellular-level changes occur even when there are no visible external symptoms of damage.
According to TASS, Professor Nadezhda Kudryasheva from Siberian Federal University noted that microorganisms are often used to study radiation effects. While such experiments do not require much time, their results are difficult to directly apply to animals and humans.
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To verify the connection between the reactions of organisms at different levels, researchers simultaneously observed bacteria and rabbit blood cells. It turned out that in the initial phase, both respond to radiation exposure in a similar pattern.
At low doses, bacteria began to emit more intense light. At the same time, phagocytes—part of the immune system that helps fight infections—became more active in the animals’ blood.
When the radiation load exceeded a certain threshold, the positive response turned into suppression. Bacteria began to die, and the activity of immune cells in rabbits decreased.
The animals might not show signs of poor health, and their basic physiological parameters remained within normal ranges. According to the scientists, this new approach could help detect the consequences of a single release or prolonged radioactive exposure at an early stage.
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