Contents
HISTORY
Following the advent of the atomic age, many nations have investigated the effects of radioactive exposure in animal models. Some of these investigations involved costly and unique experiments that produced tissue and data archives which are unlikely to be reproduced. In an effort to extract the value from these collections, programs have started in Japan, Europe, and America to preserve and make public the data and tissues from these studies for further investigation.
The Beagle Dog Experiments, carried out at Argonne National Laboratory from 1952 to 1991 by Thomas Fritz, William Norris, and Tom Seed and supported by grants from the Atomic Energy Commission, investigated the effects of Cobalt-60 radiation on beagle dogs. Documentation from these studies is available in pdf form.
The earliest studies were those of Egon Lorenz at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory (now ANL) Between 1953 and 1979, a series of studies on the long-term effects of external e- and gamma irradiation on inbred and hybrid mouse stocks were carried out at the Biological and Medical Research Division, ANL. These studies are described by D. Grahn in two ANL technical documents published in 1993 and available through the NRA. (Chuck Watson, NRA)
ANL began beagle experiments in 1956 with studies of 90Sr conducted by Miriam Finkel. These were followed in 1960 by life-span studies of injected cerium-144, cesium-137, conducted by Thomas E. Fritz and William P. Norris. A large study of life-span effects of continuous exposure to 60Co gamma ray studies was initiated by Dr. Norris; this study was terminated in 1992, when remaining animals were transferred to ITRI. (Chuck Watson, NRA)
Organs & Tissues
Many of the Dog’s tissue samples were embedded in paraffin blocks.
Experiments
Experimental Beagle Dogs were subjected to either chronic gamma irradiation exposure (22 hours/day) by cobalt-60 reactor or to more intense fractionated exposure using this same reactor.
How can I find original documentation from these studies?
The European Radiobiological Archive has consolidated the documentation and references for a myriad of radiobiological studies. Here we offer an abridged version of their complete ‘grey book’ of study conditions that pertains to the dog tissue experiments performed at Argonne National Laboratory.
Ontology
The Pathological and Clinical Observations, Treatments, and Tissues were recorded using SNODOG terminology a derivation of SNOMED CT. S
Snodog Glossary, Part 1 by C.R. Watson, 1993
Investigators associated with the ANL radiobiology studies
J.S. Arnold, M.P. Finkle, T.E. Fritz, D. Grahn, L.V. Kaspar, W.P. Norris, G. Sacher, T.M. Seed, D.V. Tolle.
Janus Mouse Studies
The Janus Experiments, carried out at Argonne National Laboratory from 1972 to 1989 and supported by grants from the US Department of Energy, investigated the effects of neutron and gamma radiation on mouse tissues primarily from B6CF1 mice.
- 49,000 mice were irradiated: Death records were recorded for 42,000 mice; gross pathologies were recorded for 39,000 mice; and paraffin embedded tissues were preserved for most mice
- Mouse record details type and source of radiation [gamma, neutrons]; dose and dose rate [including life span irradiation]; type and presence/absence of radioprotector treatment; tissue/animal morphology and pathology
- Total doses of 90-5111 cGy gamma rays, or 1-320 cGy neutrons
- Protracted low dose rate treatments, short term higher dose rate treatments, variable dose rates with a same total dose, etc. in some cases in conjunction with radioprotectors
- Normal tissues, tumors, metastases were preserved
- Standard tissues saved: lung, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, any with gross lesions (including mammary glands, Harderian gland with eye, adrenal gland, gut, ovaries or testes, brain and pituitary, bone)
Access the Janus data
See list of Janus publications
DATA – Beagle Dogs
We want to stress that we are sharing this data to minimize and prevent any future testing on canines. We support statistical efforts to analyze the data from these archives by providing data for download in csv format. We recommend consulting the study documentation for details on the experiments.
Data Description
Observation tables include the total number of observations, average age, and average remaining lifespan for all dogs. Categorization tables link observations to their category. Clinical observations are those made using bodily fluids and microscopic technique. Pathological observations are made by disease observation.
- CSV Files
*all 4709 dogs are listed in the same order in each csv file
demographics and dosage – All dogs by experiment, lifespan, gender, and radiation dosage - Pathological Observations
observations (age) – for all dogs by the age of observation
observations counts – count for all dogs
observations by category – by category
averages – frequency and average age of observation
counts – counts by study
category – frequency and averages by category - Clinical Observations
categories (age) – by category
observations (count) – count for all dogs
observations – for all dogs by the age of observation
by category frequency and averages by category
counts – counts by study
morphology and topology - Original Database Tables
Basics – demographics and study conditions for individual dog Ids
clinical – clinical observations by dog number
cobalt chronic – exposure conditions for continuously exposed dogs
cobalt fractionated – exposure conditions for fractionally exposed dogs
complete blood counts – results of a periodic full blood exam, e.g. WBC and HCT
controls – control dogs and their associated study
studies – study descriptions from the ERA
groups – study group descriptions from the ERA
organs – preserved organs by dog
organ types – organs by category
pathologies – pathological observations by dog
surgeries – surgeries by dog
treatments – medicinal treatments by dog - Download Full Databases
A full copy of the database is available to users who want to dig deeply into the data.
Please consult us for help interpreting these tables.
mdb zip – The full database as it was given to us by Chuck Watson in 2006
1972 ANL Scientist with beagle
Argonne Annual Reports
Each year Argonne national laboratory’s biological research program produced an annual report in which the progress of all studies were recorded. These reports are the most comprehensive form of documentation on the beagle dogs.
References:
Thompson, R. C., & Pacific Northwest Laboratory. (1989). Life-span effects of ionizing radiation in the Beagle dog: A summary account of four decades of research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies. Richland, Wash.: Pacific Northwest Laboratory.
Access full pdf of the “red book”.