Preconception radiation exposure alters offspring mitochondrial DNA in an organ-specific manner

It did not take long after the discovery of X-rays in the 1890s for scientists to begin exploring the harmful effects of radiation on living organisms. Yet even after more than a century of research, new insights continue to emerge about how radiation affects the body. In a recent study, researchers at Hokkaido University uncovered a previously unrecognized effect of radiation that leads to changes in the mitochondria of the offspring. The study was published in March 2026 in the journal Redox Biology.