Word: potassium
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...rays also have profound genetic effects. Piercing the nucleus of a living cell, they can destroy or rearrange the genes which determine the inherited characteristics of all new life. But, observes Dr. Failla, "All living organisms are subjected to ionizing radiations throughout their life." Chief sources are 1) potassium, a mildly radioactive element found in all cells, 2) cosmic rays, which constantly penetrate each human being...
Astronomer Harlan True Stetson of M.I.T. and other scientists think this theory is entirely reasonable. But the combined influence of potassium and cosmic rays does not now appear adequate to explain spontaneous mutations. It is possible, notes Dr. Failla, that relatively "very small amounts of radiation are much more genetically effective than large ones...
...Potassium permanganate...
Ordinary pungent incense smoke, said they, kills many kinds of nose and throat germs. Next best disinfectant is smoldering cardboard, damped with a two percent solution of potassium nitrate and dried...
...Dentist Sidney Bernard Finn of the University of Rochester fed a group of 90 rats a "caries-producing diet" of coarsely-ground corn. A second group of 45 rats, living on the same diet, had their teeth bathed in a weak mixture of potassium fluoride in water once a day. Results: 1) all the rats in Group I had large cavities; 2) the rats in Group II "showed a 70% reduction in dental decay"; 3) 13 of the rats in Group II had no cavities. The reduction was "not mainly in the size of the cavities, but in the number...