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Research over the years has found that a black mold, formed from a number of different fungi, has been growing toward radioactive particles, and surviving on ionizing radiation, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
Ionizing radiation is any electromagnetic or particulate radiation that has enough energy to detach electrons from atoms, and can cause chemical changes in cells and damage DNA.
Humans are exposed to ionizing radiation via natural sources, but too much exposure can result in health hazards.
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Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, told Newsweek: "Fungi have been through numerous challenging environmental 'boot camps' through which they—by necessity—developed interesting protective and advantageous abilities. 'Eating' radiation, or radiosynthesis, is one such adaptation certain fungi that produce the pigment melanin developed. This fungal process of energy transduction is akin to photosynthesis based on chlorophylls."
Why It Matters
In April 1986, several explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's reactor number four sent a fireball of radioactive material into the atmosphere, and resulted in widespread radiation-induced illnesses and deaths among humans and animals.
The reactor has since been contained and an exclusion zone was created covering 1,600 square miles—although scientists are allowed to obtain special permits to enter for a limited period of time.
Some scientists have since found that in the reactor black mold has been thriving on the radioactive particles—this research has sparked investigation into whether the fungi could also protect astronauts from cosmic radiation.
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What To Know
Scientist Nelli Zhdanova found black mold at the site after a visit in 1997, and later noticed after gathering soil samples that the ionizing radiation at the reactor was attracting numerous types of fungi.
She found more than 35 types of fungi growing around Chernobyl, some of which she deemed were "radiotropic" as they reached for radiation in the same way plants reach for sunlight.
Other research has since identified that black fungi are able to withstand extreme radiation stress due to the presence of melanin—a pigment many organisms have including humans.
For humans, melanin protects our skin from ultraviolet radiation (UV), but for the fungi, the melanin seemed to protect them from ionizing radiation.
The researchers, who included scientist Ekaterina Dadachova, went on to find that the fungi could adapt to radiation exposure, and prompted investigation into whether fungi could help to clean up radioactive sites and even protect astronauts from harmful radiation in space.
Dadachova also found that Chernobyl's fungi actually increased in the presence of radiation as well. Melanized fungi grew significantly faster in the presence of ionizing radiation, compared to the same fungi not exposed to the radiation.
In addition, her research established that the fungi seemed to be using the radiation as an energy source, driving its metabolic processes. Dadachova described this process as "radiosynthesis," the theory that the fungi was using radiation as its source of energy.
Dadachova told Newsweek: "It is important to say, that the fungi still had essential elements like carbon and nitrogen in their growth media, but they did not have a source of energy like sucrose and ionizing radiation was playing a role of an energy source with melanin serving as an energy transducer, so fungi would be able to utilize this energy in their metabolism."
She said that fungi are ancient organisms that "survived the time period when Earth lost is magnetic shield and was exposed to really high doses of ionizing radiation."
"They developed a way to protect themselves with melanin pigment from this exposure and also use melanin as an energy transducer to help them survive," she said.
She said that in her research, her team had been able to identify it was possible to "'train' certain fungi to sense radioactive particles" as well.
It still remains a theory, as scientists still need to better understand the exact mechanism happening in the fungi that could convert radiation into energy.
It has also been found that not all melanized fungi will grow toward a source of radiation—so there is still much more to be uncovered.
However, the findings have had implications for space exploration, and particularly how to better protect astronauts traveling in space from galactic cosmic radiation, which can increase their risk of radiation sickness and their lifetime risk of cancer.
It was found that the same fungi identified at Chernobyl were also unphased by galactic cosmic radiation. Some researchers sent some of the fungi to the International Space Station, and noticed that they experienced a higher growth rate than in the ground control.
This enhanced growth could, however, have been down to a number of factors, the researchers said, and so more research is needed to better understand the fungi's reaction to cosmic radiation.
The researchers also tested whether the fungi could block radiation, finding that even fungi in a petri dish provided an effective shield from radiation, suggesting they might actually absorb radiation.
What People Are Saying
Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk, a professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, told Newsweek: "Fungi, particularly melanotic species, have been identified within the International Space Station and Mir [Space Station]. Space radiation is not fungicidal, and may provide a growth source for these microbes. Space fungi are concerning as they may have evolved, including genetically, to be more pathogenic in humans and other terrestrial species. However, melanotic fungi may also be harnessed as batteries, radioprotectants, and other useful possibilities."
He added: "One thing to keep in mind is that fungi are relatively very close to humans on the tree of life, which has compromised our ability to control them as human pathogens as what may be toxic to fungi is often similarly damaging to us. Too little work is being done on fungi and, as documented by the WHO in their 2022 Fungal Priority Pathogen List, fungal diseases are a global critical threat that need to be addressed through a One Health approach. As humanity encroaches into new territories, this threat will likely only increase."
Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stony Brook University, told Newsweek: "Fungi have been around for so many years that they learned to survive and replicate in extreme environments, such as those exposed to or contained by radiations. We now know that they survive through the production of melanin, a black pigment that shields the cells from the damage of the radiation. Scientists hypothesize that the production of melanin stimulated by the radiation is then metabolized, broken down, into small pieces and during this process, a chemical energy is produced through a process they call 'radiosynthesis.'
"We already know that certain fungi are able to transform highly mobile uranium into stable, insoluble uranyl phosphate minerals. Examples include Aspergillus niger and Paecilomyces javanicus which can precipitate uranyl phosphate minerals from the environment, preventing uranium from reaching ground water or being absorbed by plants and entering the human or/and animal food chain. We must study this area more intensively."
Dr Arturo Casadevall, professor and chair of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University, told Newsweek: "What is happening in the Chernobyl region is adaptation by the local animals to living in a high radiation environment. There is a lot of interest by scientists and space agencies in harnessing the power of natural pigments such as melanin for radiation protection during space exploration. Materials containing melanin and even black fungi grown in space could help shield humans in spacecraft."
He added: "The changes observed in the Chernobyl region show that life can be resilient and adapt rapidly to deleterious environmental conditions including radiation contamination. We are seeing how evolution works by selecting darker frogs, which are more likely to thrive and survive in conditions of high radiation, and this is happening in real time."
What Happens Next
More research is still being done to better understand how the fungi work, what mechanisms exist within them that could convert radiation to energy, and what could enable them to absorb radiation.
Update 12/01/25, 09:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk and Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta.
Update 12/01/25, 10:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Dr Arturo Casadevall.
Update 12/01/25, 12:00 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Ekaterina Dadachova.
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