Only 50 people died directly as a result of the accident Chernobyl. However, among the inhabitants of the nearby cities and cleaning personnel, many others died in the following years. Generally, the cause of death used to be tumors resulting from the radioactivity to which they were exposed. But there were also somewhat advantageous mutations.
People were evacuated, but many animals, domestic or wild, stayed there, and over the years it has been possible to see how they have changed. In addition, there have been changes in the floors. From plants that changed color, giving rise to the famous red forest, to dogs that can be clearly distinguished from any other dog in the world, many species have changed after the Chernobyl accident.
Some are due to mutations that have been selected over the years. Others to direct changes of radiation. The fact is that, one way or another, life has made its way into the ruins of the greatest nuclear catastrophe of all time.
Radiation Adapted Superbirds
We tend to understand the word “mutation” as something bad. However, it is not necessarily. Is about changes in the DNA sequence, which can be dangerous, causing illness, but also beneficial. For example, some mutations can protect us from certain pathologies.
Furthermore, certain mutations may turn out to be so beneficial that individuals carrying them are naturally selected for, so that eventually there is a larger population containing them. This is what possibly happened with some birds from Chernobyl.
And it is that, according to a study published in 2014there are several species of birds that have managed to become radiation resistant. With a Spaniard as the main author, this study analyzes the feathers and blood of 16 species of birds whose habitat is around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Upon analysis, it was found that some of these birds, especially those that live in most polluted areashave higher levels of antioxidants. These are molecules capable of fighting free radicals, responsible for the damage to DNA caused by radiation. Therefore, it can be said that over time the birds of Chernobyl have become superbirds.
Chernobyl dogs are unique
Many of the people who were evacuated thought they would return home soon, so they left their pets behind. In other cases it was on purpose. For this reason, when the exclusion area was deserted of human beings, many dogs circulated through its streets. Patrols were sent to euthanize them, fearing they might spread radiation. However, some escaped and continued to breed.
None of them are alive anymore, but their descendants are. Luckily, they have stopped trying to cull them. In fact, the people who still work at Chernobyl controlling the radiation levels, they feed them and from time to time are cared for by vets who vaccinate them and examine their health.
They are, without a doubt, an interesting population to analyze possible mutations resulting from the radiation of the catastrophe. For this reason, a study was recently carried out to analyze its genetic material. Samples were taken from 302 dogs and their DNA was sequenced. So they could see that the genetic profile of the Chernobyl dogs was different from any other dog anywhere in the world. Simply by looking at random DNA, you could tell if it was from one of the animals descended from the catastrophe. They do not become another species, but they are totally different. Of course, it does not seem that on this occasion the changes have been for the worse either, since the majority enjoy a good state of health.
Plants that resist mutations
Immediately after the Chernobyl accident, the extremely high amounts of radiation that were released struck down the trees located near the Nuclear Power Plant. First they turned one color deep orange and then they died. This color change led to its being baptized as the Red Forest. It was a vacant lot, which was buried with the aim of trying to contain the radiation. However, with the passage of time, a good part of the trees of the red forest they have grown again.
And not only that. Many other plants have been born in the surroundings. That’s not to say they haven’t suffered. radiation mutations. The difference with animals, including humans, is that they are not affected as much. Plant cells are much more resistant to changes, so that even if tumors do occur, they do not spread and damaged cells can be replaced.
As a consequence, Chernobyl’s vegetation has hardly been affected in the years since the accident.
Fungi that feed on radiation
Beyond the living beings selected for their mutations, there are those that, losing competition, were able to proliferate without problem.
This is the case of the black fungi that grew neither more nor less than on the walls of the reactor that exploded. The amounts of radiation there made life practically impossible. However, the scientists who discovered them noted that not only did they appear unaffected by radiation. Also they were attracted to her.
Their analysis allowed us to verify that they have large amounts of melanin. This pigment is found in the skin and hair of many animals, such as humans themselves. It protects us from ultraviolet radiation, which is why its levels increase and we get darker when we go out in the sun. But, in the case of mushrooms, it doesn’t just give them a black color. It also helps them transform radiation from nuclear power plant into energy. It can be said that, practically, they feed on it.
Other fungi in the area disappeared, for logical reasons, so these fungi had much more room for their own proliferation. In fact, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Fossils of similar fungi have been found from the Cretaceous period in which the Earth lost its shield against cosmic radiation. Many living beings succumbed, but they found a perfect scenario for them.
not all are mutations
Actually, the Chernobyl accident can help us to get an idea of how harmful human beings can be to ecosystems. And not for the damage caused by the explosion itself. Also because of how the fact that there are no longer people living in the surroundings has turned the area into a paradise for many wild animals.
Many of the scientists who have traveled to the surroundings of Chernobyl to investigate its flora and fauna They have come to that conclusion. In general, animals with mutations are not detected, because most come from other places. But they have been able to increase their populations thanks to the fact that there is no competition with humans. Furthermore, even those that do have radiation mutations may live less; but, even so, they do so with a better quality of life. This is something that gives a lot to think about. How could the greatest nuclear disaster of all time have turned out to be so beneficial to wild animals? Perhaps because, in many ways, humans are more damaging than the worst of disasters.