Nifty plants have incredibly useful radioactive properties.
Nuclear fallout is a pretty devastating thing for any area of land, causing it to become irradiated and uninhabitable for most animals and plants, particularly us soft and squishy humans.
Thankfully there are some things that can grow there, and not only that but they're thriving while still managing to stave off mutations from the radiation left from the Chernobyl disaster.
We don't mean radioactive mutation as in growing a mouth or becoming sentient, but literally damage to the DNA strands within cells that prove harmful to most organisms (causing cancer or tumours).
One plant comes with a special protein that grants it a form of immunity from the leftover radiation, and scientists are already looking in to see if it can be grown in a zero-g environment for space travel.
New Scientist has more on this hardy little plant as well as the effects of the protein - it can even be used to protect human cells from radiation! - so head over to the article to check it out.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012