Radiation-Tolerant Wolves in Chernobyl Reveal Rapid Genetic Shifts Tied to Cancer Resistance
Decades after the Chernobyl disaster, wolves in the exclusion zone are thriving at higher densities than in uncontaminated areas. A Princeton-led study comparing wolves from the zone, lower-radiation Belarus, and Yellowstone finds about 3,180 genes differ in the irradiated wolves, including 23 cancer-related genes more active, suggesting rapid evolution under radiation pressure toward cancer resilience. Density differences may also reflect reduced human hunting, but the genetic signal points to possible cancer-tolerance or tumor-suppression mechanisms, with potential relevance to human cancer research; the work is published in Current Biology and led by Cara Love and Shane Campbell-Staton.
- The Wolves That Survived a Nuclear Disaster Are Evolving Into Something Scientists Have Never Seen Indian Defence Review
- 40 Years Ago, a Nuclear Catastrophe at Chernobyl The New York Times
- Surviving in a poisoned land: Chernobyl's wildlife is different, but not in the ways you might think BBC
- The no-go zone paradox: Chornobyl’s wildlife thrives amid pro-nuclear shift The Guardian
- A Chernobyl Widow’s Tragedy, Forty Years Later The New Yorker
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