fig2

Figure 2. Experiments that illustrate RIBE. (A) A well of cultured fibroblasts (in green) was covered with Mylar dishes equipped with shutters (black) that left 1% of the cells exposed to irradiation (yellow strips). After several days of culture, 30% of cells showed changes typical of radiation damage^[10]; (B) To determine if this effect was cell contact-dependent, a separate group of investigators irradiated cultured fibroblasts (red vertical hash pattern). After irradiation, they placed the irradiated fibroblasts in a well with unirradiated fibroblasts (blue divots, white background). The two cell preparations were separated by a permeable mesh (black mesh pattern) that allowed media exchange but no cell contact. After co-culture, the unirradiated fibroblasts showed cytoplasmic and chromatid changes typical of radiation damage^[11].