Special Aspects of Cellular Radiation Action

In this chapter some questions are addressed which are felt to be sufficiently relevant to deserve mentioning but were difficult to incorporate elsewhere. The action of long-wavelength UV and visible light is certainly important from an ecological point of view but also with regard to some medical applications. Radiowaves and ultrasound are also becoming to play a role in diagnosis and sometimes therapy, and there is some concern in the public about possible hazards. Chemicals which act similar to radiation — radiomimetics — have their place in chemotherapy but may also be relevant in terms of general toxicology. The importance of radionuclide incorporation needs no justification but it is also shown that they are interesting tools to learn more about site and mode of cellular radiation action.