RAD RADISH

[deleted-318370]

My daughter is planning on doing the Rad Radish ...the effects of Irradiation on Seed Germination. As she was looking into this...we aren't sure how to go about this. It says :

Label the compact disc cases with your permanent marker, as follows:

Case 1: Control (no irradiation)
Case 2: 50 mrad
Case 3: 150 mrad
Case 4: 500 mrad

What is mrad? In the description as to what we should buy...it just says to buy Irradiated "Rapid Radish" seeds. She is not sure how to do this experiment. Can you please shed some light on this? Thanks

[deleted-318370]

Anyone have any idea??? Thx

[SciB]

Hi,

In the background to the RadRadish project it explains what 'mrad' (1 mrad = 1 millirad = 1/1000 of a rad) stands for:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... background
You will use gamma-irradiated WARD's Rapid RadishTM seeds in the experimental procedure. The seeds have already been irradiated with several doses of gamma rays. The doses were not so high that the seeds were all killed, as in food sterilization, but the doses were high enough that the growth of some of the seeds could be affected. The unit used to measure the level of gamma irradiation is the mrad. An mrad is a measure of how much energy has been deposited in a material by the irradiation. A rad is equal to 1,000 mrads. The rad is the original unit developed for expressing absorbed dose, which is the amount of energy from any type of ionizing radiation deposited in any medium (e.g., water, tissue, air). A dose of one rad is equivalent to the absorption of 100 ergs (a small but measurable amount of energy) per gram of absorbing tissue. The rad has been replaced by the gray in the SI system of units (1 gray = 100 rad).

There seems to be a problem with availability of the irradiated radish seeds, however. I clicked on the link to go to the company website (https://www.wardsci.com/store/content/e ... me_you.jsp) but I was unable to find the product # WW45656M03. They have radish seeds but they are not irradiated, and they have irradiated seeds but they are not radish. You could call the company and ask them if they still have the irradiated radish seeds. If not, you may have to use the other seeds.

Post again if you have more questions.

Sybee

[deleted-318370]

Thank you Sybee-

Very informative..and hopefully this will all come together.

I called the company and they recommended this for the project.



Irradiated Seeds Set
4.0 (1 review)

Use the Irradiated Seeds in this set for added teaching to the Rapid Radish Kit.
Each set contains the following:
Rye: (100) each of control, 50,000 Rads, 100,000 Rads, 150,000 Rads
Mung (10) each of control, 50,000 Rads, 100,000 Rads, 150,000 Rads


Do you agree that this will work for the experiment? I am not very science minded, and this might be a challenge for my daughter as well. I just want to make sure we buy the right set.
Also, the experiment called for CD cases. Is that something I buy as well? Any idea where?
Thanks again!

[SciB]

Hi,

I wonder why Ward's stopped selling the irradiated radish seeds. The rye and mung bean seeds will work just as well and with that kit you have two kinds of seeds which makes your project more complete.

Ward's is supposed to send instructions with the kit, but I found the following protocol that you might like to read. It sounds like they are using the same irradiated seeds: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... MhSFb1UiXA

You will be looking for changes in the rate of germination of the seeds, how much the plants grow over a certain period of time and whether you see any physical differences. Be sure to follow the instructions for providing the right soil, light and water. If you live in a cold area you should grow the plants inside in a sunny south window or under grow lights.

If you have any questions about the methods or the science of radiation biology, be sure to ask. The cells of every organism on earth are exposed to radiation every day at low levels from cosmic rays, gamma rays from the sun and background radiation from radioactive minerals or gases such as radon. Fortunately we are shielded from most radiation and our cells have enzymes that can snip out and repair damage to the DNA.

The earth has a magnetic field that blocks the dangerous solar 'wind' and the atmospheric ozone layer absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation. If it weren't for these shields, earth would be a mostly dead world like Mars!

Good luck on the project!

Sybee

[deleted-318370]

Sybee-

THANK YOU...this was very, very helpful. She will get started on this, and if she has any questions I will have her ask you in the future.
We are very grateful for your advice!

[SciB]

You are very welcome. Our job is to make life a little easier for students and parents, and it's great when we succeed!

Good luck to your daughter and please tell her if she has any questions at all we will be happy to answer them.

Sybee

[SciB]

Oh, I was forgetting that you asked about the CD cases. I used to buy them at Office Depot to keep my CD back-ups in. Any place that sells blank CCDS or DVDs for recording should have them.

The reason for using the cases is so you can see the roots as they grow and measure them. If you wanted to make the project a little more interesting and natural you could plant some of the seeds in potting soil and note how long it took for each seeds to poke up out of the ground. You could also determine if the irradiation had any affect on growth by measuring the length of the plants once a week or so as they grow.

Have fun!

Sybee

[deleted-318370]

Thank you again. I think she would have moved on to another experiment without your encouragement.
I think she will go with the cases and the actual plants too. Her teacher will most likely be thrilled if she went that route

I am sure she will have a question or two once the supplies come in and she gets started.

Thanks!

[SciB]

You are welcome! Please tell her that she can ask any questions she has. We want to make sure our students understand the science behind the project, not just how to do the experiments.

Good luck!

Sybee

[deleted-318370]

Hey this is Sommer I know my mom was talking to you about my science fair. I'm doing the research and I wanted to include how this experiment could help someone...do you think it would help a farmer, scientist, or in the medical field? Thank you for your advice!!!!

[deleted-294464]

Sommer,

I think you are on the right track thinking of who could use the information from this type of experiment. Farmer's are concerned with maximizing the food produced by their farm and knowing how much light is needed to grow the best radishes (or corn, or wheat, or green beans, etc.) is really important knowledge. Experiments like this that test how vegetable grows under different types of lighting in the home or in the lab can then be used by farmers in their fields.

Hope this helps answer your questions,

Josh

[deleted-318370]

Thank you Josh

I think the experiment that I am doing is mostly with how the radiation level of the seeds ( I am using mung and rye...since that is what seeds had the radiation) affect plant growth. Not so much the amount of sun. Could this experiment help a scientist in the cancer field? Or someone researching how radiation affects DNA? Or how radiation affects just plant growth. Sybee had said that radiation affects living cells, so with this experiment I wonder how I can use this in everyday life. Or maybe not me...but someone!

Thank you. Sommer

[SciB]

Hi Sommer and welcome to Scibuddies!

I can answer your questions and help you do a great project.

One of the main targets of radiation like X-rays or gamma rays is DNA and all living things have that. Studying how radiation affects living things is important in lots of ways. Medical tests that use X-rays like CAT scans have to be done with the least amount of radiation to keep the risk as low as possible. People who work on the international space station may be exposed to higher levels of gamma rays from space and we need to know how to protect them. You can do a google search and find lots more examples of how a knowledge of radiation effects are useful to people.

In your project, you want to see the effect of X-rays on seeds. This is an example of how radiation can damage DNA and cause problems in cells and tissues. Think about the nuclear disaster that happened at the power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine. More than 30 people died from overexposure to radiation and many more developed illnesses related to the radiation-induced damage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster).

While you are just measuring the effects of X-rays on the germination rate and growth of the plants, you could as a scientist study the effects in much greater detail in a lab. There are ways to identify exactly what kinds of damage has been done to DNA and in which genes it has occurred. Radiation can cause mutations, changes to the DNA bases, and these can alter the way a cell works so that it can become a cancer cell. Most DNA mutations cause no harm and some are even beneficial. Plant breeders sometimes use mutations to create new types of plants that are resistant to salt water or pollutants or need less water to grow. Mutations occurring naturally have caused changes to plants and animals that allowed them to evolve and adapt to new environments.

I hope this has given you some ideas about how to write about how your experiments might be useful in the world. Keep posting with more questions and we will help you understand the science as well as the experiments.

Sybee