Why Does Radioactive Iodine Decrease Faster in Some Bodies?

  • Thread starter Thread starter alara_rc
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Radioactive
AI Thread Summary
Radioactive iodine, specifically iodine-131, is administered to reduce thyroid growth and activity. It has a physical half-life of 7.56 days; however, the radiation in the human body decreases more rapidly than this due to the body's natural excretion of iodine. This process involves both the decay of the radioactive isotope and its elimination from the body, leading to a shorter effective or biological half-life. Understanding the concept of biological half-life is crucial in this context.
alara_rc
thanx for help in advance,

we know that radioactive iodine is given to people to minimize their thyroid growth or plain thyroid activity. This certain iodine 131-53 I, has a half life of 7.56 days. so why would the radiation in the human body decrease at a faster rate than at the calculated rate?
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Because the body excretes iodine, so the 131I is lost through both decay and excretion. Google for "biological half-life".
 
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
Back
Top