Chernobyl dogs turn blue
For decades, scientists have studied animals living in or near the destroyed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to see how increased levels of radiation affect their health, growth, and evolution. A study analyzed the DNA of 302 feral dogs living near the power plant, compared the animals to others living 10 miles away, and found remarkable differences. The study doesn’t prove that radiation is the cause of these differences. Wild images show several dogs near the Chernobyl nuclear powerplant turning blue, baffling workers taking care of them. The alarming-looking dogs — descendants of pets abandoned after the nuclear disaster there nearly 40 years ago — have been found wandering around the Chernobyl exclusion zone this month, according to Dogs of Chernobyl, an affiliate of the non-profit Clean Futures Fund that cares for the dogs there.
Animals of all kinds have thrived in humanity’s absence from the Chernobyl Power Plant exclusion zone. As the world’s greatest nuclear disaster approaches its 40th anniversary, biologists are now taking a closer look at the animals located inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone about the size of Yosemite National Park, and investigating how decades of radiation exposure may have altered animals’ genomes. One study found that Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis), which are usually a green color, were more commonly black within the CEZ. The biologists theorize that the frogs experienced a beneficial mutation in melanin—pigments responsible for skin color—that helped dissipate and neutralize some of the surrounding radiation. This made scientists ponder: could something similar be happening to Chernobyl’s wild dogs? The study uncovered that the feral dogs living near the Chernobyl Power Plant showed distinct genetic differences from dogs living only some 10 miles away in nearby Chernobyl City.
“We are on the ground now catching dogs for sterilization, and we came across three dogs that were completely blue,” the organization said in an Instagram post. “We are not sure exactly what is going on.” Locals, living in the exclusion zone, said that the dogs’ fur was normal just a week earlier. “We do not know the reason, and we are attempting to catch them so we can find out what is happening,” the spokesperson added. “Most likely, they’re getting into some sort of chemical.” While they are blue, they appear to be “very active and healthy,” the organization said.
Radiant humor
Solar radiation has turned the American flags on the moon pure white…
so now it looks like France landed there.
What do you call an insect that gets exposed to radiation but nothing of consequence happens to it? A moot ant
Did you hear about the superhero who was bitten by a radioactive lawyer?
He got the power of attorney.
A band visited the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone without a guide.
Everyone suffered from radiation poisoning, except the lead guitarist.
October 30th Birthdays
1957 – Fran Dresher, 1989 – Jonel Parish, 1971 – Nia Long, 1989 – Nastia Liukin
1946 – Henry Winkler, 1735 – John Adams, 1994 – Marcus Mariota, 1957 – Kevin Pollock