Discovering Radioactive Microbes in Nuclear Waste

  • Thread starter Thread starter corra
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Radioactive
AI Thread Summary
A documentary highlighted the discovery of microorganisms thriving on burned fuel rods in highly alkaline waters at a nuclear waste site in India. Key questions arose about whether these organisms represent a new type or if they are extremophiles that adapted to the nuclear environment. The microorganisms were noted to consume metals from the fuel rods. The discussion also touched on the hypothesis that radiation may have played a role in the development of early life. While specific studies on this discovery were not readily available online, related findings about microbes in radioactive environments, such as those following the Chernobyl disaster, were mentioned. Recommendations for further research included searching for articles on specific radiation-resistant microbes like Deinococcus radiodurans and related species, as well as utilizing academic databases for more detailed studies.
corra
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
i was watching a documentary about the red rain in India when the host mentioned as a side note that they had found micro organisms living on the burned out fuel rods in highly alcaline waters in the nuclear waste deposit.

Does anyone know the specifics of this discovery?
what I am wondering is this.

is it a new type of organism?
was it created in the nuclear waste or was it normal extremeophile germs that got into the waste and didnt mind living there?

the host also mentioned that they were eating the metals of the fuel rods.
i have this notion that radiation was 1 of the ingredients for the first life to develop and would like to find out more about this.
sadly i have found no mention of it on the internet and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
 
Biology news on Phys.org
I don't know the specifics of the study you mention. However I did hear a related story on PBS radio, regarding microbes found in the radioactive environment left in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Russia. PBS reference: Intimate Strangers

I would also recommend a web search using key words microbes and fuel rods The energy citations database lists one by Breckenridge et al. , which ought to get you started.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Thread 'Chagas disease now established in US'

Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
View full post »

Thread 'I need help understanding this quote about recent Natural Selection'

I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
View full post »

Thread 'Fermentation using mixed legume and grain feedstock'

I use ethanol for cleaning glassware and resin 3D prints. The glassware is sometimes used for food. If possible, I'd prefer to only keep one grade of ethanol on hand. I've made sugar mash, but that is hardly the least expensive feedstock for ethanol. I had given some thought to using wheat flour, and for this I would need a source for amylase enzyme (relevant data, but not the core question). I am now considering animal feed that I have access to for 20 cents per pound. This is a...
View full post »

Similar threads

High-Level Nuclear Waste: Examining the Challenges & Solutions
Replies
20
Views
9K
Transmuting High Level Nuclear Waste
Replies
11
Views
8K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top