{"id":921,"date":"2025-12-01T13:47:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T13:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/bizarre-chernobyl-fungus-that-feeds-on-radiation-may-be-key-to-space-travel\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:47:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T13:47:18","slug":"bizarre-chernobyl-fungus-that-feeds-on-radiation-may-be-key-to-space-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.airnetaccess.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/bizarre-chernobyl-fungus-that-feeds-on-radiation-may-be-key-to-space-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Bizarre Chernobyl fungus that feeds on radiation may be key to space travel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Chernobyl <\/div>
Don’t worry, it’s nothing like The Last of Us (Picture: Metro.co.uk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inside one of the most radioactive reactors in the Chernobyl<\/a> Nuclear Power Plant, a fungus has evolved a bit of a quirk. <\/p>\n

It can gobble up radiation. <\/p>\n

Cladosporium sphaerospermum has been found growing on the walls of the notorious No. 4 nuclear reactor,<\/a> where the highest levels of radiation have been detected.<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/div>
The fungus can thrive in radioactive conditions (Picture: PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the Chernobyl fungus?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The fungus was discovered in the late 1990s by microbiologist Nelli Zhdanova of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

It was one of some 39 species discovered growing<\/a> on the walls and other parts of the unit.<\/p>\n

A reactor at the plant melted down in 1986, releasing smoke and causing thousands of deaths from radiation.<\/p>\n

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\"METRO <\/div>
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is about 70 miles north of Kyv (Picture: Metro.co.uk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n