A black mushroom feeding on radiation was discovered in Chernobyl

On the walls of one of the most radioactive buildings in Chernobyl, scientists have discovered the black fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum, which is supposedly capable of absorbing ionizing radiation. This is reported by the ScienceAlert scientific portal.

"Scientists believe that its dark pigment, melanin, may allow it to use ionizing radiation through a process similar to how plants use light for photosynthesis," the newspaper writes.

The researchers collected samples of the fungus directly in areas with extreme radiation levels. During the experiments, it turned out that under the influence of radiation, the fungus not only did not die, but also accelerated its growth.

Scientists have suggested that the body has adapted to radiation and learned to use it as an additional energy resource in a process called radiosynthesis. This ability, which contradicts the typical reaction of living organisms, may explain the survival of the fungus in conditions fatal to other forms of life.

On November 12, researchers from the Natural History Museum and the Sainsbury Laboratory of the University of Cambridge (SLCU) identified for the first time a new species of ancient symbiotic fungus in a 407 million-year-old petrified plant. A find from the Windifield deposit in Scotland sheds light on the origin of one of the most important natural alliances, the symbiosis between fungi and plants.

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