X-Files: Radiation Doesn't Stay In Your Body

Right now, invisible particles and high-energy waves are passing through your body. They come from space, from the ground beneath your feet, from the walls of buildings, and from tiny naturally occurring radioactive elements in some of the food you eat. You cannot feel them. You cannot detect them without instruments. And your body is handling it continuously. What Is Radiation?Radiation is energy moving through space — sometimes as high-energy light (such as X-rays or gamma rays), sometimes as fast-moving particles released by unstable atoms. Some forms of radiation are ionizing, meaning they carry enough energy to knock electrons loose from atoms and molecules. That matters because electrons help hold molecules together. When enough energy is deposited in the wrong place, a molecule can break or change shape. If this happens to DNA — the molecule that carries instructions for how cells function — it can create damage that must be repaired. This sounds alarming, but DNA damage is not…