Common aquatic animals show extreme resistance to radiation

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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.


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