161: The Science of Atomic Gardens

Scientists in the 20th century were looking for a way to use radiation that helped humanity instead of hurting it. So they decided to blast food with radiation to see if they could make it better. Here's how that worked out...

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References & Further Reading

1. By Nepenthes - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12137858
2. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/13/growing-atomically-energised-plants-james-wong
3. https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/atomic-gardening/
4. https://www.naro.go.jp/english/laboratory/nics/radbreedlab/index.html
5. https://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/archive/nias/eng/org/GR/IRB/#:~:text=The%20Institute%20of%20Radiation%20Breeding,Co%20source%20at%20the%20center.
6. https://www.popsci.com/science/what-is-an-atomic-garden/
7. https://www.atomicgardening.com/1958/10/01/rebuilding-plants/
8. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/learn-about-irradiating-seeds.htm
9. https://www.ediblegeography.com/strange-and-beautiful-seeds-from-the-atom/
10. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Global-impact-of-mutation-derived-varieties-Ahloowalia-Maluszynski/6b80382ab33c62f9cb3e1028b473aa8b105207d4
11. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/science/28crop.html
12. https://pruned.blogspot.com/2011/04/atomic-gardens.html
13. http://www.atomicgardening.com/downloads/atomic-gardening-for-the-layman/
14. http://www.atomicgardening.com/1960/02/21/the-atomic-gardening-society/
15. https://www.google.com/search?q=why+does+radiationc+ause+mutation&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB727GB727&oq=why+does+radiationc+ause+mutation&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j0i22i30l4j0i8i13i30l2j0i390l2.4312j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218706/#:~:text=Ionizing%20radiation%20damages%20the%20genetic,transmitted%20from%20generation%20to%20generation.
17. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-radiation
18. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/what_is.html
19. https://www.sciencealert.com/fruits-vegetables-before-domestication-photos-genetically-modified-food-natural
20. genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Mutation