Chernobyl wolves exposed to six times legal safety limit of radiation for humans
Wolves in Chernobyl’s radiation zone appear to have developed a resistance to cancer after being exposed to high levels of radiation in the wake of the nuclear disaster 35 years ago, according to a new study.
Cara Love, an evolutionary biologist and ecotoxicologist at Princeton University, found that the wolves in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) have altered immune systems "similar to cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment," according to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
In 2014, Love and her colleagues put collars equipped with radiation dosimeters on wolves in the area and took blood samples to understand the animals' responses to being exposed to upwards of 11.28 millirem of radiation per day – six times the legal safety limit of radiation for humans.
The research could help to identify protective mutations that can increase the odds of surviving cancer.
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Wolves in Chernobyl’s radiation zone appear to have developed a resistance to cancer after being exposed to high levels of radiation in the wake of the nuclear disaster 35 years ago, according to a new study.
Cara Love, an evolutionary biologist and ecotoxicologist at Princeton University, found that the wolves in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) have altered immune systems "similar to cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment," according to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
In 2014, Love and her colleagues put collars equipped with radiation dosimeters on wolves in the area and took blood samples to understand the animals' responses to being exposed to upwards of 11.28 millirem of radiation per day – six times the legal safety limit of radiation for humans.
The research could help to identify protective mutations that can increase the odds of surviving cancer.
Chernobyl’s mutant wolves developing resistance to cancer, study says
Wolves in Chernobyl’s radiation zone appear to have adapted to the highly radioactive environment and appear resiliant against cancer, a study says.
