4 ms·

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus, which I’m guessing is the source article for this p

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus, which I’m guessing is the source article for this piece. Not really that much of a “shocker”, as the research is decades in at this point.

outworlder 7y ago
Yeah, discovered all the way back in 1991.
ISL 7y ago
It is still really cool. As a physicist, with a lot of contacts to nuclear physics, I can't recall hearing about any biological systems (aside from humans) making deliberate beneficial use of gamma radiation. With sufficient evolution, one could imagine a biological system that could sustain itself for long durations in spaceflight with only a gamma source for "food". Such an organism could travel far and wide.
- rbritton 7y ago
  That's a big part of the storyline of The Expanse book series.
- jshevek 7y ago
  I was thinking something similar: Can we farm this organism? Could intergenerational ships of humans travel between stars, if they had gamma based farms?
- peter_d_sherman 7y ago
  Same line of thought here.
s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
If you read the article they linked to the source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ Also, it's shocking to me, did you already know about this? After some research we don't seem to know everything about this fungi and it seems to have amazing potential for possible nuclear waste disposal.
- brokensegue 7y ago
  They don't eat the radioactive material. They eat the radiation. I don't think this helps disposal.
- onceUponADime 7y ago
  This funig does not diggest the radioactive material. It diggest the rays produced by radioactive material decaying. The radioation emitted is similar to light for a plant for this fungi. If this fungi diggests radioactive material, my guess would be, that it would die- surrounded by its decendants, who would fare pretty well in the sunshine of their spore creator.
  - s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
    You could possibly surround the material with the fungi to naturally absorb the gamma radiation. Also some genetic modification to the fungi may yield interesting results.
    - mirimir 7y ago
      Lead would work a lot better.
      - s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
        Lead doesn't convert it to chemical energy. Seems like a waste if we can use the decay... Also, this fungi could be infinitely cheaper and much greener than lead...
        jshevek 7y ago
        The amount of energy lost in this circumstance is too small to invest effort into reclaiming it. It is unlikely to be both cheaper than lead and equally reliable. One day we may find a commercial use for this, but replacing lead with fungi in this context is not likely.
xyst 7y ago
The source is known to be dubious, are we really still surprised at the clickbait article title and lack of actual research?
- jshevek 7y ago
  Which source is dubious, and why is it dubious?
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
  You didn't read the article and Fox is a fine source, I see CNN on here all the time. Both lean Republican and Democrat respectively according to non-bias fact checking sites. To the point of the lack of research, they clearly link the source in the article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ Also I don't see how the title is clickbaity...
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    > Also I don't see how the title is clickbaity... Because the entirely true "Plant that eats radiation found near Chernobyl" would be similarly accurate.

outworlder 7y ago

Yeah, discovered all the way back in 1991.

ISL 7y ago

It is still really cool. As a physicist, with a lot of contacts to nuclear physics, I can't recall hearing about any biological systems (aside from humans) making deliberate beneficial use of gamma radiation. With sufficient evolution, one could imagine a biological system that could sustain itself for long durations in spaceflight with only a gamma source for "food". Such an organism could travel far and wide.

rbritton 7y ago
That's a big part of the storyline of The Expanse book series.
jshevek 7y ago
I was thinking something similar: Can we farm this organism? Could intergenerational ships of humans travel between stars, if they had gamma based farms?
peter_d_sherman 7y ago
Same line of thought here.

s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago

If you read the article they linked to the source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ Also, it's shocking to me, did you already know about this? After some research we don't seem to know everything about this fungi and it seems to have amazing potential for possible nuclear waste disposal.

brokensegue 7y ago
They don't eat the radioactive material. They eat the radiation. I don't think this helps disposal.
onceUponADime 7y ago
This funig does not diggest the radioactive material. It diggest the rays produced by radioactive material decaying. The radioation emitted is similar to light for a plant for this fungi. If this fungi diggests radioactive material, my guess would be, that it would die- surrounded by its decendants, who would fare pretty well in the sunshine of their spore creator.
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
  You could possibly surround the material with the fungi to naturally absorb the gamma radiation. Also some genetic modification to the fungi may yield interesting results.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    Lead would work a lot better.
    - s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
      Lead doesn't convert it to chemical energy. Seems like a waste if we can use the decay... Also, this fungi could be infinitely cheaper and much greener than lead...
      - jshevek 7y ago
        The amount of energy lost in this circumstance is too small to invest effort into reclaiming it. It is unlikely to be both cheaper than lead and equally reliable. One day we may find a commercial use for this, but replacing lead with fungi in this context is not likely.

xyst 7y ago

The source is known to be dubious, are we really still surprised at the clickbait article title and lack of actual research?

jshevek 7y ago
Which source is dubious, and why is it dubious?
s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
You didn't read the article and Fox is a fine source, I see CNN on here all the time. Both lean Republican and Democrat respectively according to non-bias fact checking sites. To the point of the lack of research, they clearly link the source in the article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677413/ Also I don't see how the title is clickbaity...
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  > Also I don't see how the title is clickbaity... Because the entirely true "Plant that eats radiation found near Chernobyl" would be similarly accurate.