Study: Chernobyl survivors didn't pass on harmful mutations to kids

The team ultimately found a possible dose effect, where higher doses of radiation during the accident at a younger age were associated with more breaks of both DNA strands in the tumors people developed. These double-stranded DNA breaks were also linked to possibly harmful mutations known as gene fusions, where the strands break and then fuse back together incorrectly. But the thyroid cancers in those unaffected by radiation were more likely to be caused by point mutations, where a single key change in a gene leads to tumor growth. The findings could represent a unique characteristic of radiation-induced cancers, one that might help doctors someday distinguish them from other cancers. The other study, meanwhile, analyzed the genetics of children born to Chernobyl survivors. They specifically looked for de novo, or germline, mutations—mutations that arise in the sperm or egg of a parent that can be passed down to offspring. But when compared to children born to unexposed parents, the researchers found no increase in de novo mutations among the children of survivors. The findings, according to the authors, should be a relief for people worried about the impacts of other recent nuclear accidents on future generations, such as the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan.