Radiation- eating fungi discovered inside a Chernobyl reactor

[the other mike]

What could be cooler than glow in the dark mushrooms ?

A type of black fungi that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

 

[fncceo]

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[the other mike]

"Honey these Ukrainian morels sure are tasty."
The next day...
" Hey look honey my poop is glowing."

 

[Shrimpbox]

What could possibly go wrong?

You are so good.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

What could be cooler than glow in the dark mushrooms ?

A type of black fungi that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

This is an old story. I remember first reading about it quite some years ago.

It is interesting, however.

All forms of life require energy. Nearly all forms of life obtain this energy in one of two ways. Either they eat things that contain energy in a chemical form, or else they absorb sunlight and convert it to a form of energy that they can use.

These fungi have evolved a different way to obtain energy. They absorb ionizing radiation, and convert it to energy that they can use.

 

[harmonica]

What could possibly go wrong?

or MUTATED ants from radiation in the movie Them...great title, ?

 

[initforme]

Well go in there and let us watch. Nothing can survive intense radiation without damage.

 

[the other mike]

Well go in there and let us watch. Nothing can survive intense radiation without damage.

That's what robots are for huckleberry.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Nothing can survive intense radiation without damage.

Not really true.

We can't, but some forms of life can, and as this article shows, some can even thrive.

 

[ReinyDays]

It seems they're only talking about gamma radiation, which is high energy electromagnetic radiation ... rather than the more dangerous beta radiation, high energy electrons ... in spite what the article said, we shouldn't let our old nuclear power plants just blow up ... just because some life can survive doesn't mean all life will thrive ...

 

[Shrimpbox]

Ok scientists, let’s extrapolate. Can we produce an organism that can eat spent fuel rods and solve our storage problems?

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Ok scientists, let’s extrapolate. Can we produce an organism that can eat spent fuel rods and solve our storage problems?

Unlikely, and rather irrelevant to this discovery, anyway.

To be clear, what the fungi in question are doing is somewhat akin to photosynthesis—the process by which plants get energy from sunlight. But instead of sunlight, they're getting energy from radiation. I'd started this paragraph by writing that the fungi are not eating radioactive material, but that's probably not entirely true. I'm sure that in addition to getting energy from radiation, in the remarkable way that they are, they are also eating organic material in their environment in the manner that fungi do, and just because they are in a highly radioactive environment, the material that they are eating is surely radioactive. But that's not what the article is about.

And even where a form of life eats radioactive material, that would not make it any less radioactive. The only thing that makes radioactive materials less radioactive is for the atoms of unstable isotopes to decay into other, more stable elements. And no chemical or biological process affects this.

 

[the other mike]

Ok scientists, let’s extrapolate. Can we produce an organism that can eat spent fuel rods and solve our storage problems?

Unlikely, and rather irrelevant to this discovery, anyway.

To be clear, what the fungi in question are doing is somewhat akin to photosynthesis—the process by which plants get energy from sunlight. But instead of sunlight, they're getting energy from radiation. I'd started this paragraph by writing that the fungi are not eating radioactive material, but that's probably not entirely true. I'm sure that in addition to getting energy from radiation, in the remarkable way that they are, they are also eating organic material in their environment in the manner that fungi do, and just because they are in a highly radioactive environment, the material that they are eating is surely radioactive. But that's not what the article is about.

And even where a form of life eats radioactive material, that would not make it any less radioactive. The only thing that makes radioactive materials less radioactive is for the atoms of unstable isotopes to decay into other, more stable elements. And no chemical or biological process affects this.

Bad news for nuclear power advocates I suppose. And here we are back at square one wondering is it worth it.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Bad news for nuclear power advocates I suppose. And here we are back at square one wondering is it worth it.

There is something I have wondered, about potentially disposing of radioactive nuclear waste.

Uranium ore, of course, is naturally radioactive. And it takes a lot of it to produce a relatively small amount of fissionable uranium. And surely, the amount of radioactive waste produced is on an order comparable to the amount of fissionable uranium that was involved in producing it.

If we were to take that waste, mix it with enough normal, non-radioactive dirt to make up the volume of ore that was originally mined to obtain the uranium from which that waste came, and put it back in the ground where the ore was originally mined, I wonder if we'd leave that place more radioactive or less radioactive, than it was before we removed the radioactive ore from it in the first place.

 

[the other mike]

Bad news for nuclear power advocates I suppose. And here we are back at square one wondering is it worth it.

There is something I have wondered, about potentially disposing of radioactive nuclear waste.

Uranium ore, of course, is naturally radioactive. And it takes a lot of it to produce a relatively small amount of fissionable uranium. And surely, the amount of radioactive waste produced is on an order comparable to the amount of fissionable uranium that was involved in producing it.

If we were to take that waste, mix it with enough normal, non-radioactive dirt to make up the volume of ore that was originally mined to obtain the uranium from which that waste came, and put it back in the ground where the ore was originally mined, I wonder if we'd leave that place more radioactive or less radioactive, than it was before we removed the radioactive ore from it in the first place.

Or just bury it in the desert, like we've been doing ( essentially ). Not as bad as dumping it in the ocean like the old days.

 

[Likkmee]

Ok scientists, let’s extrapolate. Can we produce an organism that can eat spent fuel rods and solve our storage problems?

God already did that. It's called time

 

[Billy_Bob]

What could be cooler than glow in the dark mushrooms ?

A type of black fungi that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

This is an old story. I remember first reading about it quite some years ago.

It is interesting, however.

All forms of life require energy. Nearly all forms of life obtain this energy in one of two ways. Either they eat things that contain energy in a chemical form, or else they absorb sunlight and convert it to a form of energy that they can use.

These fungi have evolved a different way to obtain energy. They absorb ionizing radiation, and convert it to energy that they can use.

If we can harness this process our spent nuclear radiation can be used to power things and use the waste created in our reactors. Hell, we might even learn how to use that process so we dont have to use reactors at all. Very interesting indeed....

 

[Shrimpbox]

Next question. Can spent fuel rods be used in a fusion reactor?

and I think I have read somewhere that spent fuel rods can be used in these new mini reactors that are on the drawing boards.