These hardcore species would stand a chance in a nuclear apocalypse

All right, there we are. Lucky number seven. And we’ve saved the radio-resistant ones for last. As the name suggests, Thermococcus gammatolerans it is good for dealing with gamma radiation, both for reducing the extent of radiation-induced DNA damage and for repairing damaged chromosomes. (It may be appropriate that it is a few selected single-celled organisms that would benefit the most from a nuclear apocalypse, rather than the type of complex life forms that would invent such bombs in the first place.)

In 2016, the researchers dosed the microbe with 5000 Gray and shrugged their shoulders. But it was just to better understand how the organism was able to resist radiation at the genetic level. Extremophile‘

The real feat occurred in 2003, when he first identified. Found among hydrothermal vents in the Gulf of California, T. gammatolerans He grew up even when subjected to a whopping 30,000 grays of gamma radiation. (Again, the lethal dose for 50% of the human population in 30 days is 4.5 grays. Therefore, not even at a distance).

Even when nematodes, E. coli, and maybe even tardigrades went the bedtime route, it seems bacteria like T. gammatolerans he could still be autonomous. But the path of evolution is long and winding, and we have not yet torn the world apart. Maybe we humans just prefer death for a thousand cuts.