Chernobyl species decline linked to DNA (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News

Scientists working in Chernobyl have found a way to predict which species there are likely to be most severely damaged by radioactive contamination.

The secret to a species' vulnerability, they say, lies in its DNA.

This discovery could reveal which species are most likely to decline or even become extinct in response to other types of environmental stress.
***
For this study, they used existing databases to examine in detail the DNA patterns of each of the species they had studied in Chernobyl.
***
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11023530

[Warpy]

1. Alas, it won't be cockroaches

Mythbusters did that one and found cockroaches to be quite vulnerable to radiation sickness.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. The next step, of course ...

... is to do the same kinds of studies around other radiation-related sites, as well as NON-radiation-related sites. We'll be able to compare broad spectra of environmental damage.

It's probably most important to understand radiocesium in the environment. We understand strontium 90 pretty well, but (IIRC) cesium is less well-studied and is probably the most dangerous nuclide, since it is produced in relatively* large quantities in explosions and meltdowns and has a ~30 year half-life. (*"Relative" to the rest of the nuclides released, that is.)

"One of the difficulties of such research is that it isn't really an experiment- it is impossible to control for all of the confounding variables" (Louise Johnson)

I disagree. Such studies are not appropriate for gathering discrete experimental data; the value lies in looking at the overall range of effects and their interactions. We have plenty of discrete, isolated, blinded data. A lot of studies have already been done where organisms are exposed to controlled doses of radiation, and have yielded a lot of data, but to the best of my knowledge, the Chernobyl studies are the first that have been done in nature. I don't even think the open-air bomb testing and the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were studied in any detail as to their effects on as broad a range of organisms.

The Gulf of Mexico is likely to be our next "ideal" study environment.

--d!

[NNadir]

3. Actually radiocesium is very well understood. It is the most widely used tracer

in soil science.

I discussed this topic on another website where I used to write quite a bit:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/15/708477/-Every-Cloud-Has-A-Silver-Lining,-Even-Mushroom-Clouds:-Cs-137-and-Watching-the-Soil-Die.">Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining, Even Mushroom Clouds: Cs-137 and Watching the Soil Die.

The biological uptake half-life for Cs-137 is variously, depending on the type of soil and the type of species, on the order of 2 to 5 years.

Illitic clays, which are very common in the Chernobyl, are particularly adept at sequestering cesium.

There have been many interesting surprises at Chernobyl but among those I found most interesting and surprising was the behavior of Cs-137 there.

[Javaman]

4. Personally, I welcome our DNA superior anti-radiation overlords! nt