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Just an interesting little clip I wanted to share about a guy thats doing a study on the impact radiation is having on nature within Chernobyl. Wasnt a whole lot in the clip that I didnt expect but still rather interesting
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56621/animals-chernobyl
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/science/nature-adapts-to-chernobyl.html?_r=1

That was really interesting, thanks!

I wonder what the radiation is doing to his biological systems?

 HiveFleetPlastic wrote:
That was really interesting, thanks!

I wonder what the radiation is doing to his biological systems?

i was wondering the same thing, I've heard short trips into Chernobyl arent suppose to be too damaging but it seems like this dude is going in there a lot. I wonder if part of his study is the long term effects the exposure will have on himself

Very interesting.

So that means wildlife will adapt to radiation? Wow. Thats kind of cool.

I watched a much longer documentary about this. I think it was called The Wolves of Chernobyl and it was all about wildlife reclaiming the area (particularly wolves, who have a hard time competing with humans everywhere else). I think it might have one of the wolds largest wolf populations in fact.

I think there are a lot of places there where it is safe to walk around, so long as you don't disturb the soil which is contaminated.

there is another video about the "old ladies of chernobyl" or a title to that effect about all the old ladies who kept living there.

Actually suprising how few died of radiation.

I wonder if, given enough time, it would be something people could adapt to.

Some what like how some people have adapted to digest dairy, while others cannot.

Its slightly dissapointing that there have been no super powers granted or godzillas made however :(

That guy's been there for more than a decade, but he's not following the basic dress code of "don't be an idiot and walk about in a short sleeved t-shirt". That and he should be wearing gloves when handling biological matter. A lot of the radioactive material there is carried on the wind, but it can be blocked just by covering the skin. It seems a little dumb that this guy's not giving a damn about that. I don't know the regularity of his travels there, and I suppose he has it on authority that he's not in danger, but it just seems like he's taking unnecessary risks.

I didn't see a guy with a gun following those scientists about either. Ok, maybe its my own paranoia, but I thought all tourist groups were supposed to be followed by an armed guard. Not youknow, as a threat to them, but to shoot any of radioactive boars or wolves which got to close. Perhaps their guard's off camera, but for them to be tramping about there near animal dens without protection seems a little naive.

Oh, and a lot of the locals who still live there have died. Now the average age of the inhabitants is 65, but I'd say that now there's only a few hundred inhabiting the area, whereas thousands returned there after the accident, that's evidence to say that they aren't dying of old age.

Here's a blog of a motorcyclist who goes to the area often. Her father's a scientist there, though she just goes to the area as the roads are better than the inhabited parts of the country.
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/index.html

No huge two-headed monsters and grossly mutated humans? That is a dissapointment. I guess I play too much STALKER, Metro 2033 and Fallout and got spoiled. :p
Chernobyl is so much more interesting in STALKER.

I cant watch the vid but IIRC there are mushrooms there that apparently absorb the radioactive materials or something which i though was kinda cool

It's a shame radiation doesn't work like we all wished it did. Interesting nonetheless.

 Desubot wrote:
I cant watch the vid but IIRC there are mushrooms there that apparently absorb the radioactive materials or something which i though was kinda cool

And those mushrooms when turned into a soup are the favourite food of the local mayor too. The program "Cooking in the Danger Zone" had an episode there. The presenter was advised not to actually eat any food made in that area for that particular episode, but his guards did (they visited a nice old couple who made the crew a meal, but the presenter was a little peeved when his producer told him that he should definitely not eat it, despite how happy the guards were over the extra portions). In the end they took some of the mushrooms that the mayor used to make his favourite soup with to a testing centre and found them to be fatally radioactive, though the locals just gave out the usual "hey it hasn't killed us yet" line. Well, it may not have killed them, but that reporter's producers probably didn't want to find out if it'd rob them of their star half way through a series.

 Wyrmalla wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
I cant watch the vid but IIRC there are mushrooms there that apparently absorb the radioactive materials or something which i though was kinda cool

And those mushrooms when turned into a soup are the favourite food of the local mayor too. The program "Cooking in the Danger Zone" had an episode there. The presenter was advised not to actually eat any food made in that area for that particular episode, but his guards did (they visited a nice old couple who made the crew a meal, but the presenter was a little peeved when his producer told him that he should definitely not eat it, despite how happy the guards were over the extra portions). In the end they took some of the mushrooms that the mayor used to make his favourite soup with to a testing centre and found them to be fatally radioactive, though the locals just gave out the usual "hey it hasn't killed us yet" line. Well, it may not have killed them, but that reporter's producers probably didn't want to find out if it'd rob them of their star half way through a series.

Vodka protects against radiation

Cue two Americans going to Chernobyl to hunt boars, but beforehand getting out of their faces on booze because "that's why the doctors in Hiroshima and the Firemen at Chernobyl were the only ones that lived". If you hadn't guessed this pair are either idiots, or good actors.




Though ah, yes of course. Anyone who's played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. must have chosen to stave off radiation at some point with a few gallons of vodka instead of pills. Sure you're drunk for the rest of the week, but you're not dead from the evil mud (you're blind and suffering liver failure though).

 Iron_Captain wrote:
No huge two-headed monsters and grossly mutated humans? That is a dissapointment. I guess I play too much STALKER, Metro 2033 and Fallout and got spoiled. :p
Chernobyl is so much more interesting in STALKER.

Get out of here STALKER

This is reality, not some video game.
Also, you have no, no idea how much I wanted to quote that line

 Smacks wrote:
I watched a much longer documentary about this. I think it was called The Wolves of Chernobyl and it was all about wildlife reclaiming the area (particularly wolves, who have a hard time competing with humans everywhere else). I think it might have one of the wolds largest wolf populations in fact..

My wife watched this the other day and loved it.




She was particularly delighted with the giant boar that ran across the road at 45:38. I think it's even bigger than that one Djones posted a picture of once.