Tiny Worms Living Near Chernobyl Have Evolved a Remarkable New Talent
www.sciencealert.com
Microscopic worms that live their lives in the highly radioactive environment of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) appear to do so completely free of radiation damage.

Tiny worms living in the radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) surprisingly show no signs of radiation damage in their genes. Researchers compared the worms’ genomes to those from non- irradiated areas and found no mutations caused by radiation.

This doesn’t mean the zone is safe, but suggests these worms have remarkable resilience to radiation. Studying these worms might provide insights into DNA repair mechanisms that could benefit human health research, such as understanding why some people are more susceptible to cancers caused by DNA damage.

  • AggressivelyPassive@feddit.de
    2·
    8 months ago

    Unethical experiment, but it would be really interesting to see the effects of mildly higher background radiation like this on humans.

    As far as I know, we barely have any data on radiation exposure, and the data we have, is about ingesting caesium or high exposure over a short time.

    • loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      8 months ago

      This experiment was indirectly made by unscrupulous construction companies in Taiwan in the 80s, who recycled contaminated steel for habitation buildings. When this was brought to light, scientists made a follow up on the population who had been exposed and got some interesting results.

      https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239560514_Cancer_risks_in_a_population_with_prolonged_low_dose-rate_g-radiation_exposure_in_radiocontaminated_buildings_1983_-_2002

      diseases within the minimal latent periods and were not attributable to the exposure from RCBs. On the basis of the remaining 95 patients, we found that staying in RCBs was associated with increased risks of thyroid cancers (7 patients, SIR = 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1 – 5.4) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (5 patients, SIR = 5.4, 95% CI 1.8 – 12.6) and a trend of developing leukemia except chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (7 patients, SIR = 2.2, 95% CI 0.9 – 4.6), for both genders combined. (Table

      1. On the other hand, the exposed population had lower risks for all cancers combined excluding leukemia (SIR = 0.8, 95%, CI 0.6 – 0.9) and all solid cancers combined (SIR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 – 0.9)

      TD;DR : Some cancer rates increase, most significantly leukemia, others decrease. If you exclude leukemia, exposed people have slightly lower cancer rates. Except, you can’t, because leukemia is pretty significant and serious.