The thyroid has been mentioned quite a bit in the media and
science circles this year. Following the catastrophic effects of
the earthquake and tsunami in Japan this year, images of the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant going into meltdown were
projected across the world. The fear was that because
radioactive particles of iodine (and quite a few other things)
have been released and given that thyroid cells are the only
cells in the body that absorb iodine, there might be some risk.
A similar effect seemed to be realised after the Chernobyl
meltdown where rates of thyroid cancer roundabout shot up. The
thyroid is a small gland in the neck whose key job is to convert
iodine into thyroid hormones. These thyroid hormones in turn
regulate the metabolism of things like proteins, fats and
carbohydrates and energy and metabolic processes. The main
thyroid pre-hormone is thyroxin (T4) which in the liver is
activated to triiodothyronine (T3), the active hormone. Smallish
amounts of other hormones are also formed in the t