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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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A fungus that feeds on radiation
#7462515 - 09/27/07 11:03 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Major biological discovery inside the Chernobyl reactor, a fungus that feeds on radiation September 22, 2007 - WorldTime News Report
Chernobyl /tʃɪɾˈnob16;lʲ/ (Chornobyl, Ukrainian: Чорн
86;биль, Russian: Черн
86;быль) is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in the Kiev Oblast (province) near the border with Belarus .There has been an exciting new biological discovery inside the tomb of the Chernobyl reactor. Like out of some B-grade sci fi movie, a robot sent into the reactor discovered a thick coat of black slime growing on the walls.
Since it is highly radioactive in there, scientists didn't expect to find anything living, let alone thriving. The robot was instructed to obtain samples of the slime, which it did, and upon examination the slime was even more amazing than was thought at first glance. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AEC) have found evidence that the fungi possess another talent beyond their ability to decompose matter, the capacity to use radioactivity as an energy source for making food and spurring their growth.
Detailing the research in Public Library of Science ONE, AEC's Arturo Casadevall said his interest was piqued five years ago when he read about how a robot sent into the still-highly-radioactive Chernobyl reactor had returned with samples of black, melanin-rich fungi that were growing on the ruined reactor's walls. "I found that very interesting and began discussing with colleagues whether these fungi might be using the radiation emissions as an energy source," explained Casadevall.
This slime, a collection of several fungi actually, was more than just surviving in a radioactive environment, it was actually using gamma radiation as a food source. The fungi appear to use melanin, a chemical found in human skin as well, in the same fashion as plants use chlorophyll. Casadevall and his co-researchers then set about performing a variety of tests using several different fungi. Two types - one that was induced to make melanin (Crytococcus neoformans) and another that naturally contains it (Wangiella dermatitidis) - were exposed to levels of ionizing radiation approximately 500 times higher than background levels. Both of these melanin-containing species grew significantly faster than when exposed to standard background radiation. That is to say, the melanin molecule gets struck by a gamma ray and its chemistry is altered. This is an amazing discovery, no one had even suspected that something like this was possible.
"Just as the pigment chlorophyll converts sunlight into chemical energy that allows green plants to live and grow, our research suggests that melanin can use a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum - ionizing radiation - to benefit the fungi containing it," said co-researcher Ekaterina Dadachova. Interestingly, the melanin in fungi is no different chemically from the melanin in our skin, leading Casadevall to speculate that melanin could be providing energy to skin cells.
Radiation-munching fungi could be on the menu for future space missions. "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," noted Dadachova.
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bonghittr
Stranger


Registered: 05/08/03
Posts: 322
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: veggie]
#7462546 - 09/27/07 11:21 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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i volunteer to eat the first radioactive cubie 
lol
bong
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a_guy_named_ai
Stranger

Registered: 09/24/07
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: veggie]
#7462557 - 09/27/07 11:29 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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So basically what they're saying is that the protein melanin inside cells in our body would then be making us grow?..I don't know about that one. Perhaps the radiation just causes the the fungus to trigger some internal reaction to go into "survival mode" and grow faster? I suppose it's possible as gamma rays and light both fall within the electromagnetic spectrum. But I will not take it as fact until I see a detailed analysis of it's energy production from radiation.
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usg543
◕‿◕


Registered: 02/11/07
Posts: 5,192
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: a_guy_named_ai]
#7462614 - 09/27/07 11:53 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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this is pretty cool
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StreetFreak
smellin' like a plant


Registered: 02/10/07
Posts: 946
Loc: locked in a place where n...
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: usg543]
#7462811 - 09/28/07 01:23 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I wonder if the melanin in our skin gives our cells energy from the sun...
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Visionary Tools



Registered: 06/23/07
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: StreetFreak]
#7463032 - 09/28/07 03:54 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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I'm sure I have seen this exact same article about thriving black fungus on this news service last month.
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joekenorer
The Joekenorer



Registered: 05/22/07
Posts: 626
Loc: Pensacola, FL.
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Could you imagine having a substrate of ground up, low grade uranium. Just inoculate and and put it away. How much radiation do you think a dried B+ would have left in it? What if a mutated contaminant began to rampantly colonize your home? Peroxide power wash it?
Also, we might see organic melanin batteries that can be charged by the sun in the future.
We could use fungus derivatives for skin treatment or suntan lotion.
We could feed the hungry something to eat besides fucking rice.
We could even make a melanin concentrate creme which you would apply to a large area of skin and then sit in the sun until you feel like you're about to OD on the energy.
Enhance sexual performance?
That's all I got. Let me hit this bowl again.
-------------------- My favorites are weeping willows, which aren't really weeping at all. They're very wispy, witty and will dance in the breeze with you. Nothing like a tree that wants to dance with you. Although it doesn't like its thin limbs being pulled at all, it absolutely LOVES it when you walk through them, letting them gently slide over your face and shoulders. If you're naked, the willow considers it to be sex. It will orgasm on your mind and you will blow dream chunks into outer space. All very fun until your neighbor sees you. -The Joekenorer
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Dave Bowman
Albert Hoffmans Apprentice




Registered: 08/30/07
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: joekenorer]
#7463306 - 09/28/07 07:11 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Thats a pretty big discovery. Pretty cool too
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poke smot!
floccinocci floofinator



Registered: 01/08/03
Posts: 5,248
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation *DELETED* [Re: StreetFreak]
#7463454 - 09/28/07 08:45 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Post deleted by poke smot!Reason for deletion: x
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wps
Well-PaidScientist


Registered: 09/22/07
Posts: 579
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: poke smot!]
#7463474 - 09/28/07 08:56 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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well now we know that 2 forms of life will survive the nuclear holocaust:
roaches AND fungus
-------------------- "America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve." - Tom Morello
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Random Patterns
Ranting soapboxspecialist



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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: wps]
#7463628 - 09/28/07 10:05 AM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
wps said: well now we know that 2 forms of life will survive the nuclear holocaust:
roaches AND fungus
its actually been said that roaches won't survive very long without humans. I guess they rely on us and our waste a lot.
Fungus wins the survival game
-------------------- my mind is the canvas, where's the paint?
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StreetFreak
smellin' like a plant


Registered: 02/10/07
Posts: 946
Loc: locked in a place where n...
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Re: A fungus that feeds on radiation [Re: poke smot!]
#7464511 - 09/28/07 02:12 PM (16 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
poke smot! said:
Quote:
StreetFreak said: I wonder if the melanin in our skin gives our cells energy from the sun...
I remember reading an article somewhere, where this guy claimed he lived off energy he got from staring into the sun. He claimed that his diet of water and rays kept him sustained, no food needed.
That's interesting... They have lights you can buy that emit the same type of light the sun does now I think.. I might have to look into one of those
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