Bird brains and radiation risks

Want to see what happens when excess background radiation is a constant part of life?

Just take a look at the birds of Chernobyl, then try to hold onto whatever gray matter you've got left.

Researchers examined 550 birds of 48 different species from inside the region, in areas normally off-limits to people for obvious reasons.

They found that, on average, the birds had brains 5 percent smaller than normal.

That might not sound like a lot, but it is -- smaller brains are linked to dementia and other cognitive problems. And while all our brains shrink a little in our later years, dementia patients see a loss of about 1 percent a year.

Take away 5 percent right off the top, and it won't be long before you've got a birdbrain of your own.

OK, OK, I know -- you're not a bird and you're not moving to Chernobyl, so you're probably thinking I'm the birdbrain for even worrying you over this -- but take a look around you.

You don't need to live in a nuclear kill zone to face radiation levels unheard of just a generation or two back.

Our exposure levels went up when X-rays became a regular part of medicine... then they shot up dramatically when CT scans entered the picture, with each blast slamming you with up to 1,000 times the radiation of a single X-ray. (Read more here.)

Our exposure levels went up when they added X-rays to airports and courthouses... and who knows what risks will accompany the new full-body scanners, because the feds refuse to share their safety data.

But already, we know these things are far more dangerous than they've let on. (Find out more details here.)

Women began getting extra bursts of radiation when the mainstream pushed annual mammograms... and with new 3D mammograms packing double the punch, their exposure is about to shoot up to new highs.

And let's not forget zap-happy dentists.

Add it all up, and you can bet that there are people right here in the United States exposed to more radiation than some of these Chernobyl birds -- and every new "advance" brings even more radiation to the table.

Eventually, we might all be birdbrains.

Your early bird,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.