[The significance of the radioactive isotope potassium-40 for the normal development of the animal organism].

21-day-old rats subjected to nourishing by KCl (20-30 mg per day) without radioactive isotope 40K. Besides the decrease of 40K content in animal tissue (30-50%) a reducing of body weight was obtained. In the second set of experiments in the lead (9 cm thick) chamber with low (20 times) background radiation the trustworthy decrease of young mouse development was observed under the simultaneous reducing other components of background radiation (radon, products of its disintegration, gamma, beta radiation, cosmic radiation).

[Effects of chronic gamma irradiation on the activity of adenylate cyclase in rat lung tissue].

Different phase changes were observed in adenylate cyclase (AC) activity of pulmonary tissue plasma membranes under chronic gamma-irradiation of rats at a dose-rate of 12.9 cGy/day. Comparison of AC basal activity with the data reported earlier on changes in ornithine decarboxylase activity under similar radiation conditions showed unidirectional changes which indicated that cAMP-dependent processes were possibly involved in radiation modification of ornithine decarboxylase.