> radioactive waste This one seems over-hyped to me. Some species of fungus have been observed extracting energy from gamma radiation. While incredible, it's

> radioactive waste This one seems over-hyped to me. Some species of fungus have been observed extracting energy from gamma radiation. While incredible, it's roughly similar in principle to the way plants extract energy from visible light. The fungus isn't breaking those radioactive isotopes down into stable isotopes, it's just basking in the glow. Maybe this could have some positive benefits for others, if perhaps layers of fungus grew around radioactive particles, thus somewhat shielding them, but this is a far cry from what the popsci headlines seem to suggest.