Ive been reading alot on CNN about the radiation in the water and air in Japan. I know how it can cause different types of cancer and be fatal and all that. But this may seem like a really stupid question, but could someone mutate if their gene structure comes in contact with radiation? Not like the toxic avenger or in the x-men movies but could it mess people up in other mutated ways? What about animals?

 

Yes. Usually it isn't as entertaining as a 3 eyed fish, it's more typically improperly formed. So a limb might be shriveled and useless, for example.

 

Your body is constantly correcting for random mutations caused by radiation from the sun. Your body sees a gimpy new variation of a normal cell and destroys it. Same for cancer by the way, and a host of infectious diseases as well. It really is a robust design.

 

if you are exposed to enough radiation to cause anything significant to think about mutating, you will probably die within the next month. my understanding is that alot of mutation caused by radiation comes through much later on, when people exposed to non-threatening levels go and have kids, then the kids have missing limbs and sh*t.