Can human body be made immune to effects of radiation of all sorts?

Question

Radiation from diffrent sources is likely to increase over passage of time. Is it possible that with continuous exposure to radiation human body can become immune to its harmful effects? What genetic changes are likely to develop under radiation?

Radiation may cause cancerous growth of damaged cells, would it not be possible that body fanally become capable of producing as many cells as destroyed by persistent radiation in future.

Answer 1

I think within reason yes it is possible, given the exposure is spread out over enough time. Of course if not there are plenty of other creatures that already can tolerate much greater amounts of radiation, so maybe the next dominate species will be the cockroach!

Answer 2

No. The most dangerous type of radiation is gamma radiation as it is very energetic. However it also has a short half life so it loses its potential to do damage fairly quickly. Any radiation will cause damage to any cell it hits. If enough cells are hit it will cause radiation sickness as the bodies immune system becomes overwhelmed by the damage to so many cells. If radiation hits a cells DNA it can alter the DNA so that subsequent cells created through mitosis of the DNA damaged cell will also be altered. Eventually these genetic mutations can produce cancer cells.

The one somewhat proved anti radiation pill is potassium iodide which helps prevent thyroid cancer by flooding the thyroid with non-radioactive iodide.

Answer 3

All organisms that we know of are subject to mutations from radiation. There is background radiation which comes from the environment (such as natural deposits of radioactive minerals) and the cosmos (such as cosmic rays), and this is a principal driving force behind evolution.

If the human body became immune from radiation it would have to be shielded somehow. There are three kinds of radioactive emissions, alpha, beta and gamma. To shield from the most energetic, the gamma rays, it would require a huge amount of water or a very heavy lead shield. It is improbable that we would evolve such protection.

Answer 4

Over a very long period of time it is possible that homo sapiens could evolve protective mechanisms against radiation. I bet that we will not be immune in the sense that we are not harmed by the radiation, but rather we would evolve efficient protein mechanisms for repairing the damage.

Take UV damage of DNA, there exists a very cool protein call photolyase which repairs the DNA. Placental mammals however lack this protein, but who says we can not evolve it at a later date.

Answer 5

It's called...death.....

Answer 6

we will develop cockroachlike exoskeletons

Answer 7

no