In yet another example that speaks to the testament of the ability of lifeforms to grow and survive in seemingly completely inhospitable climates and environments, fungi has bee, discovered at the very epicenter of what used to be nuclear reactor before its catastrophic meltdown on April 1986 in Chernobyl.
Sitting at the centre of the exclusion zone, the damaged reactor unit is encased in a steel and cement sarcophagus. It's a deathly tomb that plays host to about 200 tonnes of melted radioactive fuel, and is swarming with radioactive dust.
But it's also the abode of some very hardy fungi which researchers believe aren't just tolerating the severe radiation, but actually harnessing its energy to thrive.
Bad ass. Who knew fungi could be so fascinating. Or is that just me? I hope our military is gearing up to do battle in fifty years with a radioactively mutated fungi monster that will rise off the Eastern seaboard.
Read more here.
[Via]