It seems that scientists have uncovered the mechanisms that allow plants to thrive in highly radioactive environments like Chernobyl. The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal reveals that plants have an innate ability to cope with radioactivity.
The research goes on to speculate that this defence mechanism could date back millions of years, when early life forms were exposed to higher levels of natural radiation.
The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986 was the worst nuclear disaster in human history killing dozens of people whilst striking down many hundreds with radiation sickness. Although the plants are adapting some believe that there area will be uninhabitable for generations to come.
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