A species of black fungus has reportedly been discovered growing along the walls of Chernobyl—and it appears to have mutated in a way that allows it to feed on nuclear radiation.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, was the site of one of the most catastrophic nuclear disasters in human history. As anyone who watched the 2019 HBO miniseries knows, the explosion and its harrowing aftermath unleashed unimaginable levels of radiation, killing dozens almost immediately and contributing to the deaths of thousands more over the following years.
The surrounding area became so heavily contaminated that it was declared unsafe for human habitation for an estimated 20,000 years. Yet amid this environment, a remarkable organism has been thriving. Cladosporium sphaerospermum, a tough and highly adaptable species of black fungus, was found colonizing the walls of Reactor 4—the very heart of the disaster zone.
Even more astonishing is what researchers have discovered about it: the fungus appears to have evolved to utilize the intense radiation as a source of energy, functioning in a way somewhat comparable to how plants absorb sunlight through photosynthesis. In other words, this unique organism may have developed the ability not just to survive in extreme radiation, but to harness it for growth.
