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There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, a nation of 17 million people. |
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Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation
Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 (CST) by Thoth
 Fungi could eat dangerous radiation to survive, an unexpected finding that could one day help feed astronauts in space — at least those willing to eat a crawling fungus. The research began with the discovery of black fungus growing on the walls of the damaged, highly radioactive Chernobyl nuclear reactor and collected by robots.
The fungus was rich with melanin, the same pigment that gives human skin its color, protecting the skin from solar and ultraviolet radiation. Melanin is found in many, if not most, fungal species. "The fungal kingdom comprises more species than any other plant or animal kingdom," said researcher Arturo Casadevall, an immunologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Nuclear and other high-energy reactions give off ionizing radiation — dangerous rays and particles that can damage genes and thus cause mutations, and eventually cancer.
"Just as the
pigment chlorophyll converts sunlight into chemical energy that allows
green plants to live and grow," so might melanin help fungi make use of
ionizing radiation, said nuclear medicine specialist Ekaterina
Dadachova at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The scientists experimented
on three species of fungi. They consistently found that ionizing
radiation significantly boosted the growth of fungi that contained
melanin.
"In general we think of
radiation as something bad or harmful. Here we have a situation where
these fungi appear to benefit, which is unexpected," Casadevall told
LiveScience.
For example, the
researchers exposed two kinds of fungi — one that naturally contained
melanin (Wangiella dermatitidis) and another that scientists induced to
make the pigment (Crytococcus neoformans) — to levels of ionizing
radiation about 500 times higher than normal, the doses one might see
at high altitudes where atmospheric shielding from cosmic rays is
lessened.
Both species grew significantly faster, as detailed in the May 23 issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
The researchers stressed
these findings do not mean fungi can eat radioactive matter and somehow
cleanse it. Rather, the fungi can simply harness the energy that
radioactive materials give off.
The ability of fungi to live off ionizing radiation could prove useful to people.
"Since ionizing radiation
is prevalent in outer space, astronauts might be able to rely on fungi
as an inexhaustible food source on long missions or for colonizing
other planets," Dadachova said.
Casadevall also noted that the melanin in fungi is no different chemically from the melanin in human skin.
"It's pure speculation —
but not outside the realm of possibility — that melanin could be
providing energy to skin cells," he said. "While it wouldn't be enough
energy to fuel a run on the beach, maybe it could help you to open an
eyelid."
Copyright: FOXNews.com
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Re: Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation
by artberry on Saturday, March 08, 2008 (CST)
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.artberry.net | | Well this significantly increases the likelihood of life on other planets particularly Mars. |
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Re: Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation
by kyes on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Yeah, i agree.
picture frame [www.digitalframe0.com] |
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