MICE can survive a dose of radiation that should have killed them when given a double-drug therapy - even if they get the drug cocktail 24 hours after exposure.
Radiation damages rapidly dividing cells in the intestine, allowing harmful bacteria to leak into the bloodstream. Eva Guinan at Harvard Medical School found that boosting levels of a protein involved in the immune response against the bacteria - while simultaneously giving an antibiotic - helped 80 per cent of mice survive (Science Translational Medicine, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003126).
The protein and antibiotic are both safe to use in people, and could be stockpiled in case of a nuclear accident, says Guinan.
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