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A total of 289,868 locus tests, based on 28 different protein phenotypes and using one-dimensional electrophoresis to detect variant proteins, has yielded one probable mutation in the offspring of "proximally exposed" parents, who received an estimated average gonadal exposure of 31 to 39 rem in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagak. There were no mutations in 208,196 locus tests involving children of "distally exposed" parents, who had essentially no radiation exposure. Studies of the genetic effects of atomic bombs have been in progress in Hiroshima and Nagasaki since 1946 (1-5). The first generation of studies was essentially morphological in nature. More recently, profiting from technological developments, studies have been undertaken at the cytogenetic (6, 7) and biochemical (8) levels. We present here a progress report on the results of the biochemical approach at approximately the midpoint of the study. No statistically significant difference between the children of exposed and control parents can be demonstrated at this time (nor was it expected at this juncture in the study). In addition to the timeliness of a progress report, however, the present publication is dictated by three other considerations. (i) The current intense interest in the genetic effects of low-level ionizing radiation has prompted a complete re-evaluation of 30 years of genetic studies on the effects of the atomic bombs; the present data can be integrated into that treatment. (fi) The control aspects of the data of this study can be combined with similar data from other studies to yield a direct estimate of the rate at which spontaneous mutation results in electrophoretic variants of proteins; this should be useful in planning the feasibility and magnitude of any other genetic studies of this type. (Wi) A wealth of data on biochemical variants in Japanese has accumulated during the past 7 years; this description should clear the way for the presentation of this information.