Wolves living in Chernobyl's heartland appear to have evolved the ability to fight cancer – a genetic mutation that may give humans a better chance of surviving the disease.
In 1986, a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine**. The catastrophe released carcinogenic radiation and released irradiated debris into the environment, leading to the world's worst nuclear accident.
It radiates throughout Europe, as far as the Lake District in the north of England. More than 150,000 people were evacuated from the area, including the nearby town of Pripyat, which was built to serve factories and is home to many workers.
In the nearly four decades since, only about 1,000 residents have returned to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. This undisturbed tranquility allows wildlife to thrive in abandoned buildings and surrounding forests, and nature is slowly reclaiming once barren land.
Grizzly bears and bison roam the woods, and bobcats and foxes stalk through the long grass. Beavers, wild boars, elk, deer, raccoons and more than 200 species of birds call the area home.
In 1998, as part of efforts to save the breed, the rare Przewalski's horse was even introduced to the area.
But in order to survive, all must fight against radiation.
In 2014, evolutionary biologist and ecotoxicologist Dr. Cara Love and colleagues visited the 1,000-square-mile Chernobyl Zone (CEZ) to better understand the situation of gray wolves in the region and found that they were thriving.
The team put radio collars on some of the gray wolves and took blood samples to help understand how generations of gray wolves reacted when exposed to cancer-causing radiation. The counter on the collar also sent back real-time measurements of the wolves and how much radiation they were exposed to.
The results showed that although wolves received a daily dose of radiation that was higher than the legal safety limit for a human lifetime (about 1128 millirem) are about six times higher, but they appear to be significantly resistant to its effects.
The analysis showed significant changes in the immune system of wolves inside CEZ compared to wolves outside CEZ.
Dr. Love and her team have identified specific regions in the wolf's genes that appear to be resistant to increased risk of cancer — the exact opposite of humans, where many genetic mutations make individuals more susceptible to contracting the disease, such as the BRCA gene and cancer breast cancer.
It is hoped that by isolating these genetic mutations, scientists may be able to identify mutations in humans that increase the chances of cancer survival.
However, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage, the investigation team has not been able to return for further investigation.
"Our priority is to make the people and collaborators there as safe as possible," Dr Love said. ”。