1
$\begingroup$

Please note that this is not fundamentally a Biology question. It relates to the properties of molecules containing Carbon and Nitrogen.

Carbon atoms are everywhere in living systems from sugars to proteins etc.

Carbon-14 is present in living systems in a certain percentage compared to Carbon-12.

This Carbon-14 is decaying to Nitrogen-14 even when the system is alive.

Does this effect the health and functioning of the living system at all ?

I mean take a glucose molecule $\ce{C6H12O6}$, suddenly one of the Carbon atoms randomly decays to a Nitrogen atom. Does this molecule continue to function as a glucose molecule ? This question extends to every molecule in the body that contains Carbon atoms.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
7
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Some relevant information from Wikipedia: "Since many sources of human food are ultimately derived from terrestrial plants, the relative concentration of carbon-14 in our bodies is nearly identical to the relative concentration in the atmosphere. The rates of disintegration of potassium-40 and carbon-14 in the normal adult body are comparable (a few thousand disintegrated nuclei per second)." $\endgroup$
    – Nicolau Saker Neto
    Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 23:52
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ See xkcd.com/radiation $\endgroup$
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 0:04
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I have a feeling that this was asked here before... but it's just a feeling. $\endgroup$
    – Martin - マーチン ♦
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 0:17
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Surface water also contains tritium, $\ce{^3H}$. So there are multiple isotopes to which humans have been exposed before we ever starting fiddling with nuclear materials. $\endgroup$
    – MaxW
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 0:56
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @Martin-マーチン Not rather chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/65809/… $\endgroup$
    – Mithoron
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 21:44

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3
$\begingroup$

I mean take a glucose molecule C6H12O6, suddenly one of the Carbon atoms randomly decays to a Nitrogen atom. Does this molecule continue to function as a glucose molecule ? This question extends to every molecule in the body that contains Carbon atoms.

To answer this part of the question, obviously a glucose molecule which has had a carbon-14 atom decay isn't a glucose molecule anymore. What the glucose molecule turns into is anybody's guess, but no doubt there would be a wide range of molecular fragments from the multiple decays of glucose molecules. Some of the molecular fragments would be highly reactive and cause unusual reactions within our bodies.

Worse, the cabon-14 emits a beta particle when it decays. It would be sort of like a bullet ripping through the body. Thus the beta particle would disrupt the bonding in other molecules, not just in the original glucose molecule.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ You do know that only about one carbon in a trillion is C-14 and that during a typical human lifetime, only about 1% of all the C-14 we have decays. Right? $\endgroup$
    – Oscar Lanzi
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 2:07
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ I think it's important to note that even though each beta decay event potentially destroys multiple biological molecules (including important ones such as segments of DNA strands), the events themselves are so comparatively rare that even something as trivial as body-temperature spontaneous thermal degradation likely poses a greater metabolic challenge/health hazard to the cell. $\endgroup$
    – Nicolau Saker Neto
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 2:19
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ See also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis $\endgroup$
    – Ed V
    Commented Jan 1, 2021 at 2:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.