this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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"That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing radiation through a process similar to the way plants harness light for photosynthesis. This proposed mechanism is even referred to as radiosynthesis."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39553283 https://libretechni.ca/post/483480

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[–] zabadoh@ani.social 93 points 1 month ago (3 children)

You want Hulk fungi?

Because this is how you get Hulk fungi.

It's even approximately that shade of green.

[–] MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io 22 points 1 month ago

It’s not the fungi we asked for, but it’s the fungi we deserve.

[–] ieatpwns@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The thumbnail looks like a sphincter

[–] zabadoh@ani.social 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

!dontputyourdickinthat

[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 2 points 1 month ago

Radiation turns you black, instead of green, who knew..

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 48 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] ArgentRaven@lemmy.world 48 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

3.6? Well it's not great, but it's not terrible.

[–] ExhaleSmile@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The meter only goes to 3.6!

[–] Madrigal@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And the high-range dosimeter from the safe burned out immediately. It must have been faulty!

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Funniest/saddest moment from that miniseries was when their officials have the West the propaganda numbers to build the robot. Fucking lol...

[–] Black616Angel@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 month ago

I don't know it for sure, but I understood that the Germans built a robot capable of withstanding the propaganda number not explicitly for the Russians. It just happens to withstand those, but not the real numbers...

[–] Madrigal@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

West Germany, though, so you can imagine how that conversation went.”

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[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

it’s out of 3

[–] Goretantath@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Does this fungus "eat" the radiation, as in we can use it to clean up radioactive areas? Cause that'd be nice.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 39 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sadly, no. Radioactive processes happen without any external control (at least not on this level, they don't run a reactor or accelerator), and this fungus only harvests the energy.

[–] jj4211@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Akin to how plants photosynthesize without doing anything to the sun.

At least there it does provide shade, though I doubt the fungus would provide a whole lot of shielding...

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

If it's absorbing the energy, then it's not passing through. That's shielding.

But like light shining through a plant's leaves, it probably doesn't absorb anywhere near all the energy, so probably not useful as actual shielding material.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 3 points 1 month ago

But, like any shielding, the thickness matters. And if this stuff could also convert CO2 to oxygen, having a bunch would be a good thing.

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It eats the radiation, not its source though. The emitter would have to be removed. Maybe it could be used in shielding ? Like in space where background radiation seems to be a problem.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It needs carbon to grow, so it would be a CO2 scrubber AND a source of food assuming it's edible. 🤔🤔🤔

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I would not be eating something with a radioactive-based diet in space… that’s like 2 steps away from opening the gates of hell of something like that xD

[–] thebestaquaman@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Fantastic thing though: It doesn't "eat" radiation in the sense that it becomes radioactive itself. It just absorbs the energy from the radiation, like plants absorb sunlight, to power a synthesis that lets it convert CO2 to organic material.

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

bonus: you won't need eyes?

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Damn that was a rough one

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[–] Deconceptualist@leminal.space 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

Well if it just evolved this ability that suggests it found a unique niche. But it probably hasn't optimized this, since it doesn't have any pressure to compete against other organisms for the radiation source.

But the good news is that we could selectively breed the fungus, or even generically engineer it (once the genes are isolated) to maximize the ability much faster.

I don't know how useful it would be for site cleanup but it might at least become good insulation (like the idea of space station shielding mentioned in the article).

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In the future, instead of shooting up shiny silver rockets, we'll be firing up rockets covered in gross mold.

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

We could breed it to incorporate radioactive particles to make it independently self-sustaining

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[–] sirico@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago

Like everything nuclear, it's a double edge sword. Clearing up nuclear power would be amazing. People knowing they can Nuke something and eradicate the after effects quickly

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You mean, digesting one of the dotzens of toxic Uran derivatives to thin air? I don't think so.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 35 points 1 month ago
[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I for one welcome our melanin-pigmented overlords.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

Can’t go worse than the spray tanned ones.

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

The evidence that the fungi overlords will soon take over continues to mount...that's why I don't eat mushrooms...better safe than sorry...

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago

Life... uhhh...

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I can't wait until we can lab-grow lignin, I'm talking 3D printed wood, mofuckas

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Why would you want to take something that's cheap and make something that's wayy more expensive?

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Because it won't be cheap when I escape into space

[–] Heliumfart@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I love the idea of cracking methane brought in from Kuiper belt objects, and growing massive cubes of artificial wood with giant orbital solar arrays. In some future where this was possible, with a delivery system to the surface (maybe deorbiting into the ocean), we could theoretically curtail most deforestation on the planet.

[–] njordomir@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Returns are gonna be rough when Home Depot Orbital/Galactic drops a huge stack of bent 2x4s from orbit directly into your backyard. "Just take them back where you bought them."

Having said that, "tree" satellites sound pretty cool.

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[–] rageagainstmachines@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

You should call her a doctor

[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Everything reminds me of him

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

What was it again. A bacteria in a pocket in some Uran mine, that directly uses radiation as energy source? Might be yet another mechanism.

[–] t_berium@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

So this is how the 40K Orks came to be! Makes sense.

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