Re: Pregnancy and NMR
Gerald Pearson (gpearson@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu)
Fri, 5 Nov 93 16:58:34 -0600
Karen Smith wrote
> I have on my desk, a book called Biological Effects and Safety Aspects of
> Nuclear MAgnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy.
> ...
> I remember, but cannot find, a reference toa study that breed several
> generations of mice in a static field with no problems.
Karen's note reminded me of an anecdote I heard in the early 60's, when iron-
core electromagnets were the only game in town. One research worker put some
mice in a cage between the pole pieces of a magnet, turned the field on, and
started observing. After a few weeks, he realized that the reproduction rate
of the mice had dropped to zero! He was all ready to publish a paper on this
startling discovery, when someone pointed out that the pole pieces of the
magnet were too close together to permit total freedom of movement by a _pair_
of mice, even though any _individual_ mouse could easily move around under the
low ceiling of the cage.
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Gerald A. Pearson INTERNET: gerald-pearson@uiowa.edu
Chem. Dept., Univ. of Iowa VOICE: 319-335-1336
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