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Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability (www.sciencealert.com)

submitted 1 day ago by A_A@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world

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"That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing radiation through a process similar to the way plants harness light for photosynthesis. This proposed mechanism is even referred to as radiosynthesis."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39553283 https://libretechni.ca/post/483480

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[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

One potentially useful thing that they could be used for is finding radioactive contamination. Presumably it grows best at higher radiation, so instead searching with ~~ginger~~ Geiger counters for radioactive contaminants you could spread this stuff out over the environment, then just look for where it is growing a while later. Engineer it to be bright orange or something.