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Use of Radioactive Tracers in Biological Research

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Abstract

IF a chemist is asked to report on the use of the new tracer technique in biology, it is obvious that he is expected not to discuss the scientific problems, but the laboratory technique. The direction of the whole work from the first planning of the experiments to the final interpretation of the results, must lie in the hands of the biologist, and all that a chemist or, for that matter, a physicist or technician, can hope to contribute is advice as to the most efficient use of tools of research which may be unfamiliar to the biologist. The ideal organisation for such a task is a team of scientific workers ; it will be the more efficient the better the biologists and their helpers understand each others' points of view. This survey is meant as a contribution from the side of radiochemistry to such mutual understanding.

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References

  1. References to the original papers can be found in the surveys by: Kamen, M. D., "Radioactive Tracers in Biology" (New York: Academic Press, Inc., 1947); Hevesy, G., "Radioactive Indicators" (New York: Interscienee Publishers, 1948): Süe, P., "Dix Ans d'Application de la Radioactivité Artificielle" (Paris: Société d'Éditions Scientitiques, 1948); Fourth and Fifth Semi-annual Report of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948 and 1949). The vast predominance of biological experiments in to-day's applications of the tracer technique may be contrasted with the situation twenty-two years ago; see Paneth, F. A., Nature, 120, 884 (1927).

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PANETH, F. Use of Radioactive Tracers in Biological Research. Nature 163, 388–390 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163388a0

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