Mutated wolves in Chernobyl have developed abilities to fight cancer

The fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 continues to be seen in increasingly unexpected ways, and a new study has revealed something incredible about wolves living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ).

A study revealed that wolf populations living in extreme conditions have changed to such an extent that they’re now more resilient to cancer.

Since humans left the irradiated area following the disaster, the wolf population has risen dramatically. However, they’ve had to adapt to living with such high levels of radiation.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone features a level of radiation that is six times the legal limit of human exposure for workers at 11.28 millirem.

Research into the wolves’ genetic makeup began in 2014. Over time, the radiation had led to their entire immune system being altered – so much so they were more resistant to cancer.

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The study, which was recently presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, showed that the animals had reacted in a comparable way to human patients who had undergone radiation treatment for cancer.

The person behind the research is Cara Love, who is an evolutionary biologist and ecotoxicologist at Princeton University. Love has been studying wolves for the last 10 years, although research has been impossible since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“We get real-time measurements of where they are and how much [radiation] they are exposed to,” Love said.

Speaking about the invasion, Love said: “Our priority is for people and collaborators there to be as safe as possible,” said Love.

The fallout from the Chernobyl disaster continues to be felt by humans after Russian troops who dug trenches in the Chernobyl forest during their occupation of the area were struck down with radiation sickness last year.

Ukrainians living near the nuclear power station warned the Russians when they arrived against setting up camp in the forest.

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