'Radiation Eating' Fungi Found In Chernobyl Could Now Protect Cosmonauts From Deadly Solar Rays
The fungi were first found at Chernobyl in 1991 five years after the nuclear reactor exploded. They were found sprouting up the walls of the abandoned reactor which had been flooded with gamma radiation. According to reports the fungi actually grow towards the radiation as if attracted to it. This is because of its large amounts of melanin the pigment which turns skin dark - and allows the fungi to absorb normally harmful rays. NASA scientists ar...Read More
Ukraine¡¯s Chernobyl exclusion zone intrigued many after the 2019 HBO series - Chernobyl - that powerfully recounted the disaster that claimed the lives of thousands in 1986.
Apart from that, some scientists have been working for years, studying particular fungi that were spotted growing inside the reactor.
Twitter
The fungi were first found at Chernobyl in 1991, five years after the nuclear reactor exploded. They were found sprouting up the walls of the abandoned reactor which had been flooded with gamma radiation.
Upon its discovery, scientists were baffled how it managed to survive the extreme conditions. Now, they have found that its properties could help protect people from radiation.
The fungi can be beneficial for humans - particularly in space.
According to reports, the fungi actually grow towards the radiation, as if attracted to it. This is because of its large amounts of melanin the pigment which turns skin dark - and allows the fungi to absorb normally harmful rays which it then converts into chemical energy.
Just like plants convert carbon dioxide and chlorophyll into oxygen and glucose via photosynthesis, the fungi absorbed deadly rays which allowed it to produce energy.
This process is called radiosynthesis and has captured the attention of scientists because of its potentially revolutionary implications.
NASA scientists are looking into the possibility of extracting melanin from Cryptococcus as a cost-effective way of producing a space-approved sunscreen.
Twitter
Kasthuri Venkateswaran, a research scientist at NASA who is leading the experiments on the Cryptococcus neoformans fungi, said "Melanin absorbs radiation and converts it into other forms of energy (including electric). My research is into the use of melanin in conjunction with water to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical energy. This technology will probably find its place in biotechnology as it is non toxic and biocompatible."
It would allow cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, nuclear power plant engineers and airline pilots to operate without fear of absorbing a deadly dose of rays, Venkateswaran told Scientific American magazine.
Cryptococcus neoformans
The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe took place on the night of April 26, 1986, and was the result of an experiment simulating a power outage carried out by deputy chief-engineer, Anatoly Dyatlov.
54 people died in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and cleanup operation, and up to 4,000 more lost their lives, mostly due to cancers, over the next two decades, according to the World Health Organization.
