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2025-12-01T15:15:17.699Z
living in the zone
And mushrooms aren’t the only strange life forms thriving in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. Some insects appear to be unaffected by radiation. The wild offspring of a pet dog. And wild horses are an endangered species whose numbers are increasing explosively.
As dangerous as that may sound, only a small portion of this zone is a dangerous radiation hotspot and was frequently visited by tours until Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
2025-12-01T14:47:39.949Z
Chernobyl mushrooms may be feeding on radiation
Now, looking at radiation on the ground, an interesting report is making the rounds that fungi may be using the radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone as food.
The fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and the strange process it may be using to remove Chernobyl’s radiation is called radiosynthesis, which unfolds melanin to metabolize ionizing radiation, the BBC reports.
The process of radiosynthesis remains hypothetical for now, but it could provide a new basis for life on Earth.
That means the fungus may be using exploding fissile material from the Ukrainian dark star to thrive instead of photosynthesizing. (Chernobyl means mugwort in Ukrainian, and is the star prophesied to fall to Earth and pollute the water in the Book of Revelation.)
2025-12-01T13:44:21.297Z
Live Science Summary
2025-12-01T13:39:34.853Z
solar flare damages plane
How disruptive can space weather really be? Surprisingly, there are many answers. Please contact Airbus.
Solar eruptions can grow to truly catastrophic proportions, wreaking havoc on electrical systems and Earth-orbiting satellites.
Even aircraft are not immune to geomagnetic storms, and over the weekend, Gizmodo reported that aircraft manufacturer Airbus was recalling thousands of its A320 jets due to a defect that “corrupted data important to flight control functions” due to intense solar radiation.
The A320 is the most-delivered jetliner in history, and the recall has had a serious impact on some airlines, including Colombia’s Avianca, which said 70% of its planes were affected by the issue.
And as solar activity continues to increase unexpectedly in the coming decades, the problems it causes are likely to get even worse.
2025-12-01T12:36:03.184Z
Good morning, sunshine
Welcome, science fans. We’re here with news of a new geomagnetic storm, as the Earth was hit by one solar flare last night, and more are likely to come, along with coronal mass ejections.
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large, fast-moving clouds of magnetized plasma that are occasionally spewed into space by the Sun in solar flares. This is a powerful explosion on the star’s surface caused when the Sun’s magnetic loops snap in half, like an overstretched elastic band.
According to spaceweather.com, last night’s flare was a surprise and originated from a new sunspot on the sun’s northern face that seemed harmless until it exploded. The flare ionized Earth’s atmosphere and caused radio interference over Australia.
This could be a busy week for solar storms as more sunspots appear on the sun’s surface, potentially causing further disruption to space and the aurora borealis on Earth.
ben turner
Trend News Deputy Editor
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