Common aquatic animals show extreme resistance to radiation

User rating: 4.6 / 5 after 9 vote(s)

A bdelloid rotifer browses in a mass of decaying vegetation. Its two red eyes can be clearly seen. Its corona and sensory antenna lie just beyond the plane of focus. Image and caption courtesy of and www.micrographia.com
A bdelloid rotifer browses in a mass of decaying vegetation. Its two red eyes can be clearly seen. Its corona and sensory antenna lie just beyond the plane of focus. Image and caption courtesy of, and © www.micrographia.com

Scientists at Harvard University have found that a common class of freshwater invertebrate animals called bdelloid rotifers are extraordinarily resistant to ionizing radiation, surviving and continuing to reproduce after doses of gamma radiation much greater than that tolerated by any other animal species studied to date.


Full story »
All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for March 25, 2008

Uncertain future for elephants of Thailand

46 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team.

Study explores plausibility of bulbs and tubers in the diet of early human ancestors

12 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it. Anthropologist Nathaniel J. Dominy of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has advanced the investigation of the diet of early human ancestors ...

Wealth Does Not Dictate Concern for the Environment

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
It has been a long-held assumption that poor nations will not support efforts to protect the environment since their citizens are too preoccupied with meeting basic needs, such as food and housing. However, a new study in ...

Construction workers unearth mammoth bones in Minsk

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Workers building a business centre in Minsk came across the bones of two mammoths thought to be between 25,000 and 45,000 years old, an official from Belarus' Academy of Sciences told AFP on Friday.

Women's access to credit affects efficiency in rural households

Jul 25, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Rural strategies designed to induce economic growth often emphasize the need to improve access to capital for poor households. However, this approach implicitly assumes that family members pool all their resources and allocate ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive