# Advanced Omics and Radiobiological Tissue Archives: The Future in the Past
## 2 Radiation Biology Archives
### FFPE Blocks from Animal Experiments  
A major archive of biological animal material is hosted by Northwestern University, Chicago, USA. The so-called NURA archive houses the JANUS Mouse Archive including data and tissues from 50,000 mice exposed to gamma and neutron irradiation during 11 different studies, as well as the Argonne Dog Archive including data and tissues from 5000 beagle dogs exposed to gamma irradiation and internal emitters at Argonne National Laboratory. It also includes the Lovelace Dog Archive with data and tissues from beagle dogs exposed to internal emitters and inhaled radionuclides at the Lovelace Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI). A Radiation Biology Wiki ([[http://janus.northwestern.edu/nira/index.php/Main_Page](http://janus.northwestern.edu/nira/index.php/Main_Page)]([http://janus.northwestern.edu/nira/index.php/Main_Page](http://janus.northwestern.edu/nira/index.php/Main_Page))) (accessed on 18 November 2021) holds summary reports and documentation of the research related to these three archives [7; 16; 17]. The Southern Urals Biophysical Institute (SUBI) in Ozyorsk, Russian Federation, conducted a large number of animal studies, mostly with Wistar rats. For six of these experiments study descriptions are available through the STORE database ([[http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.20348/STOREDB/1056](http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.20348/STOREDB/1056)]([http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.20348/STOREDB/1056](http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.20348/STOREDB/1056))) (accessed on 18 November 2021); biological samples and the related data can be accessed on request. The studies dealt with the effects of incorporated tritium or tritium oxide, incorporated plutonium and external gamma radiation, partly with a mixture of these. Along with the German Thorotrast Study [18], a large study was conducted by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) on rats to investigate the roles of the radioactive and chemical components in Thorotrast gel-induced tumours of the lung, liver or spleen. About 6000 annotated FFPE blocks are held by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Neuherberg, Germany ([[http://dx.doi.org/doi.org/doi.10.20348/STOREDB/1017](http://dx.doi.org/doi.org/doi.10.20348/STOREDB/1017)]([http://dx.doi.org/doi.org/doi.10.20348/STOREDB/1017](http://dx.doi.org/doi.org/doi.10.20348/STOREDB/1017))) (accessed on 18 November 2021). Both the study-related data and the blocks are available on request. In Japan, the Japan-Store house of animal radiobiology experiments (J-SHARE) has been established, aimed at providing access to data and samples from experiments with mice and rats conducted at the Institute of Radiological Sciences of the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan [19]. Exposures included X-rays, gamma-rays, neutrons as well as a range of heavy ions, including carbon ions as used in radiotherapy. Currently, efforts are made to make the J-Share website accessible to the scientific community. The Institute for Environmental Sciences (IES) in Aomori, Japan, has a unique Low Dose Radiation Effects Research Facility (LERF) which was established to study the biological effects of long-term low-dose-rate irradiation on large populations of mice [20]. IES maintains and stores, among other materials, all FFPE samples. Data and samples can be accessed on request [21]. After the Fukushima catastrophe, an archive system was established at Tohoku University, Japan, composed of frozen tissues, FFPE blocks, blood samples and extracted DNA and RNA from cattle and wild Japanese macaques in and around the evacuation zone [22; 23; 24]. These materials and their associated data are available on request [23]. The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), Montrouge, France, conducted a number of large-scale experiments with rats for different exposure scenarios including plutonium or neptunium inhalation, intravenous plutonium citrate injection and wound contamination by actinides [25; 26; 27].