Radiation Inoculations

Blackstar the Chakat · Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:38 am

Now, a somewhat common thing in Star Trek was considered Science Fiction, and unrealistic at that. After all, once radiation penetrates the skin it's too late. The idea of inoculations against radiation may not seem quite as absurd any longer in the light of the radiation resistance of a bacterium called Deinococcus radiodurans. This bacterium withstands higher doses of radiation than any other organism because of its protein repair mechanism. Speculation goes that this property might be incorporated in a genetic therapy for higher species some day. While this would not be an inoculation technically, it may explain what the Doctor really administers to his patients.

Post by **Teaos** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:45 am

In my head to explain it away I though it didnt make you immune to it but it fought the effects of it. Radition destroys cells and DNA. The inoculations may just be somthing like stemcells which instantly fight the effects making it seem like nothing is happening.

Post by **Mikey** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:10 am

Yeah, I always figured that was therapy rather than a true innoculation

Monroe · Post by **Monroe** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:52 am

The HIV Virus recodes the DNA of a cell to produce more HIV viruses. I don't see why the docs in Trek can't use a genetically engineered virus to recode the DNA of cells to make them more resistant to radiation.

Post by **Mikey** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:57 am

Why not? Yet another tidbit that was never explained onscreen.

Post by **Teaos** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 6:40 am

If they tried to explain it they would probably do somethign stupid like anti-radiation.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:57 am

Stop giving them ideas!

Seriously, the fact that it was never explained is a blessing...

Thorin · Post by **Thorin** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:33 pm

Maybe it is an innoculation - it gives you an electromagnetic field around you which the radiation can't pass through? It's pretty far fetched but that's the only real innoculation that could exist

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 2:15 pm

maybe, but would this EM field have some noticeable efects so we can determine its effects?

Thorin · Post by **Thorin** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 2:22 pm

Rochey wrote:maybe, but would this EM field have some noticeable efects so we can determine its effects?

...I have no idea.
Was that a rhetorical question?

Blackstar the Chakat · Sat Oct 06, 2007 3:02 pm

Thorin wrote:Maybe it is an innoculation - it gives you an electromagnetic field around you which the radiation can't pass through? It's pretty far fetched but that's the only real innoculation that could exist

Wait! I'm saying we have a plausible explination. Don't go making up more unrealistic solutions.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 3:27 pm

...I have no idea.
Was that a rhetorical question?

No, I was just wondering whether there would be any way to determine if this is what they use.

Post by **Mikey** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:32 pm

Doesn't matter - even if there were a plausible explanation, it would have to be translated into pretend particles and imaginary types of radiation. This is Star Trek after all.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:32 pm

Indeed.

celeritas · Post by **celeritas** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:00 pm

i always thought that the radiation innoculations were just some kind of free radical scavenger innoculation, like getting innoculated with megadoses of ascorbic acid.

once you are exposed to radiation, the danger is that you generate free radicals which cause cell damage (primarily lipid peroxidation, crosslinking of proteins, and DNA fragmentation).

Because free radical generation is a self-catalyzing reaction, a free radical scavenger treatment might be able to save you by breaking the chain reaction of free radical generation and help limit cell damage. Cells that are lethally damaged still die, but you may be able to save some cells from being irreversibly damaged. Cells that are reversibly damaged have self repair mechanisms and some lost cells can be regenerated. And if you save enough cell, maybe you'll live.

Anyhow, thats how i think radiation innoculations will work -- in the future, they'll be some kind of super-free radical scavenger that will be able to minimize cell damage very efficiently with little/no side effects. Any "repair" would be done by the normal cellular mechanisms themselves. Presumably, the idea is that you'll be able more resistant to radiation exposure because each free radical formed will be neutralized by the scavengers before they can start a chain reaction. you'll still get cell damage each time a free radical forms when an electron gets knocked off by the radiation, but at least you won't be propagating any chain reactions.

Of course, with significant radiation exposure, you'll need other treatment to keep you alive while your body tries to repair itself. Because all your rapidly dividing cells will die, you'll lose your hair, get very bad diarrhea, and have all sorts of blood problems (anemia, problems clotting blood, practically no immune system) among other wonderful things. So you'll likely need to get prophylactic antibiotics, some kind of i.v. nutrition, blood transfusions, platelets, immunoglobulins, and a bone marrow transplantation.

of course, if you are massively exposed, you'll suffer massive cell damage, and there's nothing that can save you. so, you get to die in a horrible manner. either that, or you gain superpowers.