Re: Report: Pentagon Asks for Anti-Radiation Drug

["Bjorn Cedervall" <bcradsafers@HOTMAIL.COM>]

>>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Defense Department is pressing for the approval 

>>of a new drug that could help against radiation  <snip>



>>So far the drug, a steroid hormone known as 5-androstenediol that appears 

>>to strengthen the immune system  <snip>

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>Why are most of us opposing the nonsense that Norman Cohen distributes, 

>when such nonsense as the above is distributed obviously to support the 

>idea that "take a pill and you are safe from radiation"?????

----

What surprised me was that it looked like radioprotection from some chemical 

substance is a completely new idea (The Reuters stuff about this hormone 

probably "sold"). The U.S. military worked on radioprotectors about 50 years 

ago (some of you probably know more about the historical details - for ref. 

see older editions of Eric J. Hall's book "Radiobiology for the 

radiologist"). As a result the WR "drugs" (after the Walter Reed Hospital in 

Washington D.C.) were developed, WR2721 is perhaps the one studied.



To me it is interesting with such news ideas - even if they are crazy and 

spread unrealistic perspectives - simply because those ideas may reach the 

minds of people outside the critical scientific and/or technical community. 

As the mass media bear much of the responsibility for the weird and 

distorted perception about the character of "radiation" - I guess that many 

of us Radsafers are indeed interested in what is "out there" even if we 

disagree.



My personal ideas only,



Bjorn Cedervall   bcradsafers@hotmail.com

http://www.geocities.com/bjorn_cedervall/





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