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 Space Plants From Chernobyl
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General News
Posted: May 26 2009, 01:37 PM


Curtain Jerker


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QUOTE (New Scientist @ 21st March 2009)
    More than two decades after the world’s largest nuclear disaster, life around Chernobyl continues to adapt.

    To determine how plants might have adapted to the meltdown, Hajduch’s team compared soya grown in radioactive plots near Chernobyl with plants grown about 100 kilometres away in uncontaminated soil.

    Compared to the plants grown in normal soil, the Chernobyl soya produced significantly different amounts of several dozen proteins, the team found. Among those are proteins that contribute to the production of seeds, as well as proteins involved in defending cells from heavy metal and radiation damage. “One protein is known to actually protect human blood from radiation,” Hajduch says.

    Determining how plants coped with life after Chernobyl could help scientists engineer radiation-resistant plants, Hajduch says. While few farmers are eager to cultivate radioactive plots on Earth, future interplanetary travellers may need to grow crops to withstand space radiation.
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Just Me
Posted: May 26 2009, 02:36 PM


Curtain Jerker


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QUOTE (General News @ May 26 2009, 01:37 PM)
QUOTE (New Scientist @ 21st March 2009)
Among those are proteins that contribute to the production of seeds, as well as proteins involved in defending cells from heavy metal and radiation damage.

I'm booking my flight today.
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