Bacteria that do not handle radiation

1999/12/19 Kortabarria Olabarria, Beñardo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Mikrobiologia

Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria are not afraid of radiation. This bacterium undergoes a gamma radiation flow of 1.5 million rad, 3,000 times more than would be necessary to kill man, and manages to survive. Due to radiation the genome of the bacteria breaks into hundreds of fragments, but before 24 hours the bacteria rebuilds their DNA and continues to live quietly.

This bacteria lives in places where others could not live, such as nuclear reactors or Antarctic rocks. After the discovery, scientists hope it will serve to learn more about cell restructuring and understanding cancer.

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