Monsanto Chemical Company, Clinton Laboratories Outlines of Research of Biology Division (Companion Document Is 709539)

Page 1

OVTLINES OF RESEARCH OF BIOLOGY DIVISION Alexander Hollaender, Director The outline given below is a tentative one because it may have t o be modified to a consid sr able extent, depending on the men who we will be able to obtain and the problem which may come up inthe course of this work. Fe soon sibi li tv of the Director It will be the responsibility of the Director of the Biology Division t o organize a program on the basic problems of the effect of radiation on the National Institute of Zeal that the Clinton Laboratories of the Monsanto Chemical Company and coordinate the work betwwea th5 PTaticnak Institute of Health an6 Clinton. It also will be the responsibility of the Director to establish cooperative studies vrith different universities and research The Director at the same time will be the representative of The Director will select and direct a permanent staff of biologists and He -xi11 outline research alongbiochemists which will reside at Oak Ridge, broad lines and supervise the investigators in a general way. arrange the limited space available to biology at Clinton and arrange the space, inthe temporary structure to be made available, as vbroll as help to design the permanent biology Sui ldin q which i s planned t o be completed b y 1951.

Page 2

The major part of the work atthe Biology Division of the Clinton Laboratories will concern itself chiefly with the basic aspects of the effects o f radiation on living cells, at Clinton as a result of nuclear disintegration in the pile,radi at icl n emitted by substances irradiated in tho pile, as tvell as radiation emitted by new sources li kobe tat ron s, Van der Graff machines, otc. Other radiations like infra - rad and ultraviolet will be used to help us in the study of the mechanisms of' the eff oct s of ionizing radiation. The presence at Clinton Laboratories 3f a xcel i ent Physics, Chcxistry and YeaIth physics Divisions will be most helpful in connection with the physical and chemical aspects of our wcrk, for instance in tho availability of radiation sources, tho purity of radiation and energy meascremcnts. part of the work of the Biology Division will bo done in close cooperation with the above three groups. Tho radiations used will be the ones available It is hoy d that a consider abl o in regard to isolation and purification, tta well as t o the chem;i;cal stndfee which this division is conducting i n coniloction with tho production of radioMost of the biological work done i n connection.with the Ban hatta n Distr ict uf it il now concerned it solf with the qu cst ion of the to le ranc s dosaqos. Animals were used mainly inthe work. paring the raw materials for the atomic bomb made this type of study most logical. It i s hoped t o continuo this work on to loran cc in a limited my inthe new Biology Division, However, the main effort will be shifted t o more basic aspects of radiation work, The limited time available for pre-

Page 3

The i mm dia to probloms t o be attack od are : 1. irP.at isthe lowost dosaqc of Alpha, Beta, Gamma radiations,as well as x-rays and neutrons which will inter fer o with the normal function of 2 . \Vi11 this eff oct be the s mo if tho minimum energy is giv c nina fraction of a second or spread over nany hours? 3 . Is the effect the same if radiation originates otitside tho cell or if the radiation is emitted by liquids or gases within the cell? The need for answors to those quostions is quite urgont bocause the acca ptsd dosage ofO.lr per day for human cxposure may not bo as safo as tvo would exgect from tha usual statements. This i s mainly true for certain types of penetrating radiation, which m y produce secondary radiation in blood-forming organs (See Fail la). One of the most important reasons why the use of nucl aar energy in industry vi511 have t o be slow is tho problem of the maximum safe axPosure. the protcctivG inaasuros which at present have been rocomended i n connection with the applications of nuclear onorqy. protective wall around a nuclear onerp;y powcr source, the expenso o f construct ing such a rowor s cur ce would be considerably reduced. Tho problem o f naximum szfe oxposure is at prc s cnt a major Public Xee-fth problom i n connection with the practical use of nu c leer energy. It might also bo possible to roduce some of If wo could reduce safely the A concerted attack of the different sections of the Bio low Division at Clinton will be launched on this problem.

Page 4

Promam of Sections It i s planned t o organize the Biology Division inthe following sections : Biochemistry, Cytogenetics, General Physiology (Physical Chemistry), Physiology, Txperimental Radiology and Cooperative section. The planned activities and personnel fora minimum and standard staff of these ot ions follows : 1.Iimimum Staff : Pri nci pa 1 Biochemist 2 Ass is taiit Bioohemi s ts Standard Staff : r rinc i palS i ochemi st The work in this section concerns itself with the effects of radiation on cell constituents. It has been found that it is possible to change the physical structure of certain types of nucleic acids by either x - radiation or ultraviolet without resulting in FZ noticeable change of the chemical structure of these compounds. S iai lar effects have been noticed in regard to proteins, It i s planned t o extend this work.? The investigation of these compounds is considered especially important because they are the main constituents of living cells The nucleo-proteins are the nost essential structures of chromosomes and the nuclei acid appears to control the product ion of protein in living cells, The distribution and function of nu cleo proteins seems tobe governed by certain types of enzymes. . It i s placned t o make a very careful study of the effects of rad in tion on these

Page 5

The ready availability of radio - active isotopes has made their use in the study of certain m8tabolic steps awry pam ising problem, planned t o cooperate with the chemistry division in the preparation of compounds containing the radio - isotopes in a specific location in their structure, and t o follow the metabolism of these compounds with the help It has been found in the studies which we hgve been conducting during the last few years,that during the process of irradiation of human serum certain changes take place which can only be detected by immunological techniques It i s plaraed to follow this lead especially,since it mag give us a clue in the regard to radiation sickness as well as other oar ly changes i n the blood which cannot bo de-ted by m y &her method; Minimum Staff : Chi e f Genat ici st Senior Cyt og eriet icist Permanent Ste.ff: Chiaf Genet i cis t 2 Senior Cyto geneticists 2 Ass is t nil t Gonat ic i s ts he of the most profound changes which radiation produces in living cells if they survive exposure is in the chromosomes including the genetical make-up of the cell. As a natt cr of fact the genetical changes nay apFear a long time before any chemical indication of change will be no tico able.

Page 6

The genetical studies would be directed toward a study of the effects of different radi at iom on Drosophila, fungi, etc. would concern itself with changes radiation produces inthe chromosomes, mitochondria and other constituents of thc cell. t o bo used in this connsction nro trades can tia chromosomes. Considerable h e of the ideal materials information is available on this subject, but vary much more work will have t o bo done t o understand the radiation affect e spec icl ly since it has been found lately that affects similar tothe ones produced by X-rays can b o caused It h ~ sbeen found that the function of the cell which i s most easily inter for od with by radiation is the rate of mitosis, i.e., tho speed with which the chromosomes move. It is ? lamed to use this first for the study of the effect of alpha radiation later t o 5e followed by studies with more The pr slim in ary work wa have dono i n oonnection with the above type o f investigations a? Bothesds would indicate the need for making these very important sections of tic Biology X vlsi on which promiss to give results in a relatively short time b 3. General physiology (Physical Chemistry) Permanent Staff : Principal General Dhysioloqist Senior General Physic logi st 2 Phys io lo qi sts

Page 7

The general fun ct iom of ccll growth, diffusion, osmotic relation, metabolism, energy relations ES effected by radiation will bo the subj ect of study in this field.Certain typos of radiation lilave shown t o effect the dii'ferent functions of tho cell differential ly.Certain typos of radiation affects the normal res pir rti on of tho cell ; otho rs,the function of cell division without hcving any immediate in flu en co on ros pirc tion. lim in ary test shaw shown that these cf foot j We definite and clean - tut and definite for the different types of radiation. This problem i s ready for immediate attack and should give interesting results There appears t o be 8close relationship between the calcium metabolism and rgldiation eff eats. This load will be follow d Up. There are cert c in enorgy relationship from which it apponrs th ct the living cell nay be ab16 t o us0 some of the absorbed radiation as energy source similar as the peon plant used thr! sunlight in photo synthesis. The eviderce i s frajgnentary and not too definite. It would sgem worthwhile to follow it up. As sist wt Fhys Fol o qi st Permanmt Sta rf: Principal Phys io logi st Scnior Physi oloqi st O x of the obvious off oct s of overexposure toy net rating radiation inthe change i n t-h? blood pic tur o of nom1 men. blood forming org ms are zl so chzngcd by overexposure. It appears that tho The i modi ate task

Page 8

of the physiology group will be the study of the effect of radiation on different cons it it u ents of the blood. Special nethods for the study of bone marrow will have t o be developed, Basic aspects of the ph y sio lo q ical function of the cell could be studied bacteria and fungi ,more easily with lower cells: more detailed information of radiation effects, experience with this subject will inake possible the immediate study of this with some physiological background. Also viruses nay give The Director ' s previous It i s planned to obtain the service of an experienced mycologist Aline of work xh ich is of considerable promiso isthe use of radio - a ot ive isotopes in certain metabolic processes which will give us information in re - gard to the function of radiation. The work with microorqa,nisms isthe most promising one as far as quantitative aspects of radiation work 82-0 concerned, It is here where cooperation with the.8eiith Physics group would be most promising. It i s expected that the work with microorganisms will give results in a relatively short time. 5. Experimental Sdio logy Tho Experimental Radiology section is the only one which was functioning Or. Ifenshaw was i n charge. a t Oak Ridge at that i methoD ir eot or ?oak over. He isthe last of' the biologists who ware connected wLth this laboratory dur-. inq the war. The work which Dr. Hensliaw i s conductir?g concerns itself lKi_th

Page 9

the determina+ion of to hr ance dosage and the damaging effect of pilo radiation on whole animals, beta radiation beed most fruitful. tolerance dosage and beta radiation, be done on tho production of cancers by radiation. shaw has initiated is the effect of radiation on the work function of rats. Cooperative Section - under the Sir ect ion of the Biology Director Esp eo i ally has tho work on high intensity It i s 2lanned t o continue the work i n A very lix it ed arnount of work will Permanent Staff : 2 Assistant Scientists 4 Te chich am . The s’ixdy of the effects of radiation requires not only a knowledge of the basic fiinctions of the individual cell and the x hole animal, but also a good understanding of the7hy s ical asposts of radiation mergy, noasurements, penetration, &o. The implication of radiation effects are s o profound that it re qu tres m&zy disciplines to follovr than up. It is not possible to have all the diff or s nt disciplines included in a Bio low Division, Cooperation vSi11 have t o overcome the haadicaps which l i ~ tt he single worker and the A. Cooporation with other Divisions at tho Clinkon Laboratories. 1. A major and essential part or’ the ao operation work will have toba vi it lz P. Xorgan’s group (Health Physics), as has bosn mentioned before. Itis hoped thatt > e cooporation with this group will be in tin ate enough t o pe mi t co-authors hip on publications

Page 10

2. The Chemistry Division has not only available plutonium 8 s a source of radiation bv.t also a variety of other radio - active compnunds which might turn out t o be very important i n our work. ham to advise and help us i n connection with the use o f the pile. contact with the Fbdicnl group will depend on the interest of the men who will be connected with this group in the future. The Physics group trill B. Cooperation with theY at ional Institute of Health. The plan for the development of the Clinton Sio low Division is based on the close cooperation with the different Divisions of the National 1. The 3a dio a bio loa hb oratory which -the Director has dcvoloped during tho last nine years4t theN a tic nal Institute of Xealth will be maintai ned at Bsthesda. Dr. Carlson and 3r. Zelle will cont in us their work with the work at Clinton as soon GO arran gc n ents for specc r?nd equipment ! ~ m obeen 30th of those ram will become involved i n 2* It i s hoped that tho different members cf the Industrial $giene Research Laboratory (.":cdioal Director Paul A. Neal) will become interested in taking advantage of the opportunities at Clinton. nard and Drm Horecker will use the general facilities at Clinton. applied to Dr. Yagoda, Dr. Iieppel, etc. 3.Itis hoped that several menbers of the gat ional …