The consequences of the discovery by W. C. Röntgen for present-day medical physics and radiation protection

When the German physicist W. C. Röntgen discovered X-rays, which were named after him, he introduced a new development in medicine and biology: together with the discoveries of A. H. Becquerel and M. Curie, radiology with its diagnostic and therapeutic methods was made possible. The medical physicist has an important task to fulfill in modern radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and radiodiagnostics. The longtime interdisciplinary collaboration has won the international recognition of medical physics as a scientific discipline, a health care profession and a university subject. Several incidents, including contemporary ones, show that the efforts made towards radiation protection must remain an important domain of the specialist.     

Activity of a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (angiotensin converting enzyme) in lungs of different animal species

Résumé On a dosé la dipeptidyl-carboxypeptidase (responsable de la conversion de l'angiotensine I en angiotensine II) dans des préparations de poumons de 10 espèces différentes. Les espèces se classent comme suit par ordre décroissant de teneur en enzyme: rat > lapin, souris > cheval, chien, porc, mouton > buf, cobaye > veau, homme. Chez la plupart des espèces, l'enzyme est fixé a une structure subcellulaire sédimentable.     

Detection and imaging of atmospheric radio flashes from cosmic ray air showers

The nature of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at energies >10(20) eV remains a mystery. They are likely to be of extragalactic origin, but should be absorbed within approximately 50 Mpc through interactions with the cosmic microwave background. As there are no sufficiently powerful accelerators within this distance from the Galaxy, explanations for UHECRs range from unusual astrophysical sources to exotic string physics. Also unclear is whether UHECRs consist of protons, heavy nuclei, neutrinos or gamma-rays. To resolve these questions, larger detectors with higher duty cycles and which combine multiple detection techniques are needed. Radio emission from UHECRs, on the other hand, is unaffected by attenuation, has a high duty cycle, gives calorimetric measurements and provides high directional accuracy. Here we report the detection of radio flashes from cosmic-ray air showers using low-cost digital radio receivers. We show that the radiation can be understood in terms of the geosynchrotron effect. Our results show that it should be possible to determine the nature and composition of UHECRs with combined radio and particle detectors, and to detect the ultrahigh-energy neutrinos expected from flavour mixing.     

Spektrale Phototaxis von Planktonrotatorien

Summary The spectral sensitivity of 3 species of planktonic Rotatoria (Asplanchna priodonta, Polyarthra remata, Filinia longiseta) were measured by means of the positive phototactic reaction.Asplanchna andPolyarthra both have a broad maximum sensitivity range around 540 nm and a near maximum at 440 nm. In the UV direction (to 360 nm) the spectral sensitivity increases. In contrast,Filinia has only a maximum of 460 nm in the visible spectrum, but behaves similarly to the other species in the UV region. The ecological significance of these results is discussed, as well as their bearing on a possible dermal light sense.