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Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability (www.sciencealert.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
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"That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing radiation through a process similar to the way plants harness light for photosynthesis. This proposed mechanism is even referred to as radiosynthesis."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39553283 https://libretechni.ca/post/483480

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[–] 18 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Sadly, no. Radioactive processes happen without any external control (at least not on this level, they don't run a reactor or accelerator), and this fungus only harvests the energy.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Akin to how plants photosynthesize without doing anything to the sun.

    At least there it does provide shade, though I doubt the fungus would provide a whole lot of shielding...

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    If it's absorbing the energy, then it's not passing through. That's shielding.

    But like light shining through a plant's leaves, it probably doesn't absorb anywhere near all the energy, so probably not useful as actual shielding material.

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