Back in July, we talked about the Government Accountability Office’s investigation in which the GAO created a fake company that was successful in one out of three tries at getting a license for radioactive material. Once they received the license and placed an order, GAO then altered the license to increase the quantity of material […]
Author: IsotopeAlliance
New molecular imaging technologies can make it easier to treat cancers, minimize side effects
New molecular imaging technologies can make it easier to diagnose, monitor, and treat cancers while potentially saving patients from undergoing therapies that are likely to be ineffective and playing a role in minimizing side effects, according to experts from the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In […]
When stents don’t work for blocked arteries, targeted radiation may help
Four times, Elaine Paparella Vandeputte underwent balloon angioplasty to clear dangerous blockages in her right coronary artery, usually also having stents implanted to prop open the vessel. Four times, the vessel became blocked again, clogged with scar tissue and other cells that were part of her body’s attempt to heal. In August, physicians at Thomas […]
Visualizing the Medical Isotope Crisis
The impending repeal of the Affordable Care Act is not the only threat to health care these days. Another crisis, one you may not have heard of, concerns a radioactive isotope called technetium 99. This obscure atom is used in a medical imaging technique called single-photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT, used to diagnose millions […]
Source Security Working Group Releases Transition Memo to Incoming Administration
The Source Security Working Group recently released its memo to the Trump transition team regarding recommendations for radiological source policy. Highlights include: • Maintain the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as the principal federal regulator for the domestic civilian use of radioisotopes. • Do not require artificial transitions to alternative technologies. • Support U.S. policy to […]
DOE Isotope Program Provides Target Material for the Discovery of Superheavy Elements
Two isotopes of a new element with atomic number Z=117 were created by an international collaboration in the reaction between unique radioactive 249Bk target material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) through the DOE Isotope Program and an intense beam of48Ca ions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia). This result completed […]
IsoRay (ISR) Announces Presentation of Positive Cesium-131 Brachytherapy Data at SNO Conference
IsoRay Inc. announced David G. Brachman, MD, FACRO, Director of Radiation Oncology, Barrow Neurological Institute, and Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, presented the findings of a prospective trial entitled: “Prospective trial of surgery and permanent intraoperative brachytherapy (S+BT) using a modular, biocompatible radiation implant for recurrent aggressive meningiomas,” at the […]
Gamma-ray irradiation improves safety of stem cell transplantation in Parkinson’s disease patients
Replacing dopamine-producing cells in the brain represents a promising therapeutic approach in Parkinson’s disease, and a new study shows how post-transplantation gamma-ray irradiation can reduce the risk of tumor formation. Read more here.
Cleaning up the threat of terrorists’ dirty bombs: Bloomberg View
The risks of nuclear terrorism are commonly misunderstood. It’s unlikely, given technological difficulties and security measures, that an extremist group could build a large-scale atomic weapon. But a group could easily obtain material for a smaller radiological weapon: a so-called dirty bomb. Read more here.
US To Run Out Of Power Source For Deep-Space Missions In 10 Years
America will run out of the essential nuclear power source for deep-space exploration, called plutonium-238, in 10 years, according to a Fusion.net profile. Read more here.