Posted on 02/24/2025 9:12:07 AM PST by dennisw
For decades, scientists have studied animals living in or near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to see how increased levels of radiation affect their health, growth, and evolution.
A study analyzed the DNA of 302 feral dogs living near the power plant, compared the animals to others living 10 miles away, and found remarkable differences.
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor in northern Ukraine—then part of the Soviet Union—exploded, sending a massive plume of radiation into the sky. Nearly four decades later, the Chernobyl Power Plant and many parts of the surrounding area remain uninhabited—by humans, at least.
Animals of all kinds have thrived in humanity’s absence. Living among radiation-resistant fauna are thousands of feral dogs, many of whom are descendants of pets left behind in the speedy evacuation of the area so many years ago. As the world’s greatest nuclear disaster approaches its 40th anniversary.
Biologists are now taking a closer look at the animals located inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), which is about the size of Yosemite National Park, and investigating how decades of radiation exposure may have altered animals’ genomes—and even, possibly, sped up evolution.
The idea of radiation speeding up natural evolution isn’t a new one. The practice of purposefully irradiating seeds in outer space to induce advantageous mutations, for example, is now a well-worn method for developing crops well-suited for a warming world.
Scientists have been analyzing certain animals living within the CEZ for years, including bacteria, rodents, and even birds. One study back in 2016 found that Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis), which are usually a green color, were more commonly black within the CEZ. The biologists theorize that the frogs experienced a beneficial mutation in melanin—pigments responsible for skin color—that helped dissipate and neutralize some of the surrounding radiation.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Not evolution, but adaption?
They are, after all, still dogs.
And what a worthless article - says absolutely nothing of any significance.
I don’t know, Jake, but that ain’t no Chihuahua!
Or did the dogs of “The View” visit there?
Comparative analyses showed the Chernobyl dogs are also genetically distinct from free-breeding dogs in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
There have, however, been some influxes of genetic material from modern dogs such as mastiffs into some Chernobyl populations. This may be because residents and their pets have begun moving back into Chernobyl City, the researchers suspect.
What will be interesting for future studies is that the three Chernobyl dog populations have been exposed to varying levels of radiation.
The next step, the researchers say, will be designing broader studies “aimed at finding critical genetic variants that have accumulated for more than 30 years in this hostile, contaminated environment.”
If the studies conducted so far on the wildlife of Chernobyl are anything to go by – and based on what we know about how environmental exposures can be inherited as molecular etchings on an organism’s genome – scientists will be hard-pressed to tease out clear findings that resolve their debates once and for all.
The research has been published in Science Advances.
Outdoorsmen are suddenly disappearing. Picture 15 foot tall pit bulls that have developed a taste for human flesh.
According to the movie “A Boy and His Dog” part of the adaptation is telepathy with a human and the ability to locate human females.
Don Johnson and Melanie whatever...
Beat me to it. This stuff is really only interesting if a particular species becomes a different species. And although the experts have confidence that this has occurred many times, no one has ever actually seen it. Dogs stay dogs. Fruit flies stay fruit flies.
Well? What are the ‘strange mutations’ of the dogs.
I was hoping to see photos of them, or at very least, read a detailed description.
Are we talking three headed dogs, as with Greek mythology?
Cerberus was the three headed dog who guarded the gates of Hades.
Maybe the second half of the article is missing.
* (Exxon/Mobil, SUNOCO, and Citgo, respectively)
-- life.. finds a way.
I was going to say something similar.
Popular Mechanics should remember to include “Climate Change” in their articles to make them more interesting.
Quite right!
That's right. That's why they're always desperately searching for some "missing link" and have yet to find one.
so can they fly? Are they huge? Do they have 6" fangs with venom? Can they leap 50'??? Climb trees?
DO THEY HAVE A TASTE FOR HUMAN FLESH!! WTF? SAY SOMETHING!!
It has this:
“… for example, is now a well-worn method for developing crops well-suited for a warming world.”
A well-worn method for regurgitating unsubstantiated crap.
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