95% of silkworms grown on soil of Katsushika (Tokyo) died and the rest grew enormous
Some experiment shows that 95% of silkworms grown on soil collected in Katsushika, one of the highly-contaminated areas in Tokyo, died in about 3 weeks. The soil measured 4,780Bq/Kg of Cesium.
90% of silkworms grown on the same soil, but covered with paper and plastic sheet (to shield alpha rays) are still alive.
Furthermore, the three surviving silkworms grown directly on soil became enormous. It is considerable that de novo mutations occur caused by radiation.
It's frightening to think if this result suggests the future of human being.
Report: Silkworm's DNA lesion by radiaoactivity
I started the experiment of silkworm from June 4th 2012 and updating data since then.
I was concerned the number of insects like ants abnormally reduced in my garden in Katsushika.I knew that insects are more than 100 times more sensitive to radiation than humans, and I felt uneasy to observe much fewer numbers of insects around my house.
I contacted Mr. Tomita, who studies the environmental pollution and has already began a living-body experiment using silkworms to seize the effects of pollutants. He came all the way from Osaka to set up the experiment. Eggshell of silkworm is extremely hard, so that embryo can hardly get damaged by most pollutants.
They don't die even when they are boiled in 10N, 48 hydrochloric acid for 5 minutes.
When a silkworm ecloses, it breaks the eggshell. Therefore, they can possibly be affected by harmful materials attached to the eggshells.
1.Experimental Outline: Put the radiation contaminated dirts (listed below) and 60 silkworm eggs in each container, and observe eclosion and process of growth.
Put 100g of the dirt and 60 eggs in each container, and first observe the hatching rate. Bq-value is measured with EL25. cpm and SV value are measured using LND7317.
Alpha ray is shielded by placing plastic sheet and then paper over the dirt of container 1, 2 and 3.
Container 1.Zeolite@159Bq/kg(measured with EL25), 2.5cpm,0.15μSv/h(dose value of gamma ray and beta ray measured with 7317 GM tube)
Container 2 The dirt gathered in my garden in Katsushika 4,780Bq/kg (measured with EL25), 62.8cpm,0.17μSv/h
(dose value of gamma ray and beta ray measured with 7317 GM tube)
Container 3.The dirt gathered in Katsushika 5,890Bq/kg(measured with EL25), 73.2cpm,0.20μSv/h(dose value of gamma ray and beta ray measured with 7317 GM tube)
Container 4.The dirt gathered in my garden in Katsushika/silkworms grown directly on it. 4,780B/kg (measured with EL25), 73cpm,0.20μSv/h
(dose value of gamma, beta and alpha ray measured with 7317 GM tube. Only Alpha ray reads 10.2 cpm, 0.03μSv/h)
As I updated today, I observed their growth phase since they eclosed on June 9th. Almost all (60) eggs hatched in container 1, 2 and 3. The number of surviving worms are as below.
Container 1.
56
Container 2. 55
Container 3. 56
Container 4. 3
The hatching rate of the container 4 is remarkably low, and some larva were about 10 times bigger than the average at the time of eclosion. I showed the pictures of the silkworms to Mr. Tomita and he gave me the following comment.
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The worms of container 1, 2 and 3 seems to me to grow normally, however, the ones in container 4 are abnormal. They remind me of Godzilla.
I suppose that they grow enormous not because their DNA was damaged but because the damage to epigenetics of DNA causes to produce more growth hormones than usual. When about 2-year old silkworms are grown on a chipboard, rapidity of growth varies greatly. It is considerable that chemical materials affect hormonal series. Some female patients of Suginami sickness grew a mustache or male patients had brest.
Almost all eggs of the container 4 died maybe because of the damage by alpha ray, however, the damage happened not to be fatal, so that there were some larvas still alive, though they should have been affected by radioactivity during the process of growth.
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We're facing a serious situation. I'm frightened to think about the damage done by radioactivity to children.
I'm now trying to find a way to breed the container 4 worms, and prove scientifically the observed DNA damage and genetic disorder.
