Biological Discovery Inside the Chernobyl Reactor

a reply to: purplemer

Its only natural, and it would be something like fungi that would be growing there I do not think this would surprise anybody, the melanin process they use to convert it all to energy is much more interesting then the fact that there are things growing there. In fact when the sun really starts shining I need to get me some more melanin, it generally helps and makes me feel more vibrant, now If I could use it to so effectively covert gamma radiation into effective energy that my body could use, that would be sweet, they say it follows the same procedures that plans use in changing sunlight by way photosynthesis into useable energy.

The funny thing is the chlorophyll process according to this wiki seems to be a poor at converting the green spectrum light into energy, hence the green color of it is but a byproduct. While melanin makes everything more darker toned, generally meaning it is great at absorbing the different spectrum of light as in plants being more focused on the blue and red spectrum, one of which at least in the case of this fungus seems to be the gamma spectrum, also it would explain why they say this fungus is a deep black slime color because if they found it in the core then I do not think it would have been exposed to sunlight.

Even in humans the more melanin you have the more dark your skin gets, or when you get a tan in summer ie the darker you tend to get, that to is an energy transfer brought on by exposure to a energy source ie the sun. Hence why you generally feel more vibrant when you get a bit of sunlight, then when lets say your a bit under when you stay indoors for long periods of times, but its all depending on the general output of the sun though.

As for the more comic book side of things of which I know some are thinking. What is a big giant hulking creature has green skin, does not need to eat, heals almost instantaneously and is a solar sponge? Its a favorite character to among comic book enthusiasts, but in truth if something like that would exist ie the Hulk, well it would not totally be classified as human, if it were in real life the hulk would be classified as a plant most likely, though the melanin process would be much more involved then the chlorophyll photosynthesis process in a more complex creature.

Anyways seems like a cool little fungus but not surprising in the least that it can grow and even thrive there, they even found fungus I am pretty sure in meteorites in the deep of space. If one were to seed a solar system something like fungi would be one of the more effective ways to go about it.

This could give rise to new treatments, and also new ways to shield areas/people from gamma radiation. Thanks for the post OP

I wonder why we even get worked up over the "goldilocks" zones of stars anymore. I mean, look at our own Solar System. We have decent evidence for environments conducive to life on Titan, Europa, Enceledaus, and several larger asteroids in the Mars/Jupiter belt (Ceres, Vesta, etc.). With the extremophiles here on Earth, anything is really possible.

Also, I find it interesting that just a couple of years ago, scientists were reluctant to speak on life that was not "as we know it", and lately on the myriad of MSM Science channels like History, H2, Science channel, etc., it seems like the only kind of life they want to talk about is the kind that is not "life as we know it".
When I think of how ignorant we were yesterday,and how much we know today, it boggles my mind to dwell on what we will know tomorrow.

Interesting. I have long believed that life can thrive just about anywhere. Those who do not believe this to be the case are probably not thinking broadly enough when it comes to the various possibilities for life in our universe. Consider the sheer amount of chemical reactions that can take place. So many of those could potentially be used by an organism, whether simple or complex, in ways that have likely never even been conceived by humans. They could be quite strange.

This is partly why I never subscribed to the idea of only looking for life where liquid water is present, although I admit that life is quite likely to thrive if water is present...but again, it seems to me that this is assuming all life is more like what we're used to on earth. It is quite intriguing to note the sheer diversity of life just on our planet. This article is a great example of that as well. So if some life is so different when compared with other life on earth, shouldn't we expect even more extreme differences in the vastness of the universe?

And that is just considering life on actual planets or bodies with mass...There could actually be organisms that live in free space. Perhaps they can lie dormant or just live for long periods without recharging with energy. Radiation in space could be a source of energy for such life. And there are likely organisms that could virtually shut down as they travelled through space, only awakening again when they come into contact with an energy source. The possibilities are endless. Carbon-based lifeforms are probably just the tip of the iceberg, even though there are so many types of life based on carbon. It is difficult to think of just what, and how much, is likely out there.

interesting and what a wonderful little collection of fungus

if only we could get them to break down the radiation into less harmful molecules and aid in the increase in the decay
surely there must be a bacteria now which can break down radioactive molecules and increase the decay