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Fungus eats radiation for breakfast at Chernobyl!

Posted by Coturnix on September 24, 2007
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Sarah Wallace, Matt Ford, ScienceGoGo and Jason Stajich comment on the fungus that gets its energy from radiation. I’ve heard of Deinococcus radiodurans before, but this is a fungus! Well, if there is an energy source to tap into, even if it is in the middle of Chernobyl, some life form is likely to find a way to do it.

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Comments

  1. #1 Jason
    September 24, 2007

    Do you perhaps mean Deinococcus radiodurans which is extremely resistant to radiation (and desiccation, extreme heat & cold, and acid) but does not necessarily metabolize the radiation.

  2. #2 Coturnix
    September 24, 2007

    Yes – post in haste….thanks for the correction.

  3. #3 andy
    September 24, 2007

    All this makes me wonder what kind of interesting biology was going on back when there was enough uranium-235 in the Earth for natural fission reactors to be operating.

  4. #4 Siamang
    September 24, 2007

    You just blew my mind.

    Natural nuclear reactors… radiosynthesis… MY HEAD ASPLODE!