Chernobyl ecosystems 'remarkably healthy'

[struggle4progress]

<snip> "It's evolution on steroids. There are a lot of deleterious mutations in species but these seem to be very quickly weeded out," Morris explains. Many young fish living in the reactor's cooling ponds are deformed, but adults tend to be healthy, implying that those harmed by radiation die young. <snip>

Humans spending long periods of time there would suffer a build-up of radiation that would shorten lives and raise newborn mortality. "It would be a disaster for humans," Morris says.

Many birds are also showing the harmful effects of the fallout. Morris's colleague Timothy Mousseau found that barn swallows nesting around Chernobyl have lower survival rates, fewer eggs and are in generally worse condition than those living southeast of Kiev, away from the exclusion zone. <snip>

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050808/full/050808-4.html

[etherealtruth]

1. Hmmmm, interesting. Thanks eom

[halobeam]

2. Don't know if you ever saw this site, but it was seriously fascinating...

thought I'd pass it on to anyone who might find this of interest.

"A motorcyclist rides through Chernobyl" (a young girl)

[hunter]

3. There was a bit of hoax about that site.

The young woman on the motorcycle wasn't quite as she claimed.

site:

http://www.kiddofspeed.com

about the site:

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/05/26/girl_photoblogs_cher.html