Some forest mushrooms, such as wild porcini, can accumulate dangerous levels of radioactivity from the soils they grow in. But until now it was unclear if the same was true for truffles, fungi that range among the most expensive foods in the world. Swiss and German researchers have analysed Burgundy truffles collected in central Europe […]
Crops near Chernobyl still contaminated
Crops grown near Chernobyl are still contaminated due to the 1986 nuclear accident, new research shows. Scientists analysed grains including wheat, rye, oats and barley and found concentrations of radioactive isotopes – strontium 90 and/or caesium 137 – above Ukraine’s official safe limits in almost half of samples. The researchers also examined wood samples and found […]
Chernobyl Radiation Surge ‘Cause for Concern,’ Say Scientists
Scientists monitoring the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine are detecting increased fission reactions inside an inaccessible chamber built around the radioactive ruins of a reactor that suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986—and they aren’t sure why. New Scientist reported this week that since 2016, researchers have detected a 40% surge in neutron emissions from a sealed […]
Genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation
In two landmark studies, researchers have used cutting-edge genomic tools to investigate the potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. One study found no evidence that radiation exposure to parents resulted in new genetic changes being passed from […]
Radiation causes blindness in wild animals in Chernobyl
Vast amounts of radioactive particles spread over large areas in Europe. These particles, mostly Cesium-137, cause a low but long-term exposure to ionizing radiation in animals and plants. This chronic exposure has been shown to decrease the abundances of many animal species both after the Chernobyl and later Fukushima nuclear accidents. Damage caused by acute […]
Radiation in parts of Marshall Islands is higher than Chernobyl
Radiation levels in some regions of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific, where the United States conducted nuclear tests during the Cold War, are far higher than in areas affected by the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters, according to new research from Columbia University. Three studies published July 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy […]
Prolonged exposure to low-dose radiation may increase the risk of hypertension, a known cause of heart disease and stroke
Prolonged exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation increased the risk of hypertension, according to a study of workers at a nuclear plant in Russia published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. Uncontrolled hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, can to lead to heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other serious health problems. Earlier studies linked exposure to high doses […]
Chernobyl Heart and the children of Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred when a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, releasing 90 times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sixteen years later, award-winning filmmaker Maryann De Leo took her camera to ground zero, following the devastating trail […]
Radiation Protection With Apple-Pectin
Apple pectin has the ability to sweep out radioactive dust particles from the intestinal tract, and it was used extensively after the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown. Apple pectin, for example, along with other fruits that contain this soluble fiber and polysaccharride carbohydrates are great radioprotective agents. A study showed that apple pectin can absorb and […]