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Zapping Yeast with X-rays

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Long (2-4 weeks)
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of what radiation, DNA, and mutations are.
Material Availability
See How to Build an X-ray Machine for a detailed list of materials that will need to be ordered.
Cost
Very High (over $150)
Safety
Credits

Teisha Rowland, PhD, Science Buddies

*Note: For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

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Abstract

Have you ever wondered how X-rays affect living organisms? You have probably had X-rays taken at the dentist's or doctor's office. These X-rays are considered to be relatively safe, but every X-ray exposes a person to some radiation, specifically electromagnetic radiation. Radiation is energy that travels through space as either waves or high speed particles. Watch this video to learn more about electromagnetic radiation.

Watch this video which gives an introduction to light and electromagnetic radiation (Khan Academy).

When the energy in X-rays encounters an object, it can break chemical bonds. If this energy encounters a living organism, it can cause cellular damage, such as by directly damaging molecules like DNA, which contains the genetic instructions for an organism. This can cause mutations in the DNA.

How radiation affects something largely depends on the radiation dose. Being exposed to a relatively low dose of radiation over time is less hazardous than being exposed to a high dose at one time. This is because organisms can repair DNA damage over time and, given enough time between exposures to radiation, can usually repair it well. However, it is difficult for organisms to repair a large amount of damage that happens all at once. Depending on the amount, duration, and type of radiation exposure, high radiation doses can lead to radiation sickness, an increased risk of developing cancer, and/or death. However, doctors can also use radiation in radiation therapies to treat cancer, which is where cancer cells are specifically targeted with high doses of radiation that should only kill the cancer cells but leave the surrounding normal cells unharmed.

What radiation dose is needed to affect the growth of microorganisms? You can build your own X-ray machine to investigate how localized X-rays affect the growth of a common microorganism, baker's yeast. Read the Science Buddies Project Idea How to Build an X-ray Machine and the accompanying Introduction to Radiation & Radiation Safety to learn how you can safely make a homemade X-ray machine. There are several other Science Buddies Project Ideas that discuss how to grow yeast and use them to conduct investigations, such as Yeast Reproduction in Sugar Substitutes. What is the lowest radiation dose needed for you to see any difference in yeast growth? What is the lowest dose needed to completely kill the yeast, resulting in no growth? How do these radiation doses compare to what is considered safe for humans? How does it compare to the radiation dose a person receives from a single X-ray, or in an entire year on average?

Bibliography

Here are a few websites that will help you start gathering information about radiation and X-rays:

icon scientific method

Ask an Expert

Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

Global Connections

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Good Health and Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Variations

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Physicists have a big goal in mind—to understand the nature of the entire universe and everything in it! To reach that goal, they observe and measure natural events seen on Earth and in the universe, and then develop theories, using mathematics, to explain why those phenomena occur. Physicists take on the challenge of explaining events that happen on the grandest scale imaginable to those that happen at the level of the smallest atomic particles. Their theories are then applied to… Read more
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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Zapping Yeast with X-rays." Science Buddies, 17 Apr. 2023, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/MicroBio_p030/microbiology/zapping-yeast-with-x-rays. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2023, April 17). Zapping Yeast with X-rays. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/MicroBio_p030/microbiology/zapping-yeast-with-x-rays


Last edit date: 2023-04-17
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