Atomic-Bomb Survivors May Offer Clues On Cancer Treatment Risks

A technician works in a laboratory at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima City, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 23, 2010. DNA from survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 65 years ago may help doctors gauge whether radiation used in cancer treatment triggers genetic defects that can be passed down the family tree. Scientists at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation are investigating whether the health consequences of the bombs continue beyond those survivors who developed cancer. They are looking for genetic changes linked with conditions including leukemia and heart disease, and checking whether those alterations can be inherited, said Evan Douple, the foundation's associate chief of research. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images