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 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago

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

[–] ieatpwns@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The thumbnail looks like a sphincter

[–] zabadoh@ani.social 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

!dontputyourdickinthat

[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 2 points 2 weeks ago

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

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 47 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] ArgentRaven@lemmy.world 47 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

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

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

The meter only goes to 3.6!

[–] Madrigal@lemmy.world 26 points 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks 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 3 points 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago

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

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This looks like one of those bad conversions to imperial- instead of 3.28 feet per meter, your spaceship crashes into the surface

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

it’s out of 3

[–] Goretantath@lemmy.world 39 points 2 weeks 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 38 points 2 weeks 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 26 points 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks 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 2 weeks 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 2 weeks 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 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago (2 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 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago (1 children)

bonus: you won't need eyes?

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Damn that was a rough one

[–] Deconceptualist@leminal.space 25 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 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 2 weeks ago (1 children)

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

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Obviously you hide the gross fungi under a nice silvery façade. You don't compromise aesthetics in space or all the other stellar societies will laugh at us, and uninvite us from the quasar parties.

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

One potentially useful thing that they could be used for is finding radioactive contamination. Presumably it grows best at higher radiation, so instead searching with ~~ginger~~ Geiger counters for radioactive contaminants you could spread this stuff out over the environment, then just look for where it is growing a while later. Engineer it to be bright orange or something.

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

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

[–] sirico@feddit.uk 2 points 2 weeks 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

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemmy.zip 35 points 2 weeks ago
[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I for one welcome our melanin-pigmented overlords.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

Can’t go worse than the spray tanned ones.

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks 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 17 points 2 weeks ago

Life... uhhh...

[–] rageagainstmachines@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

You should call her a doctor

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks 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 2 weeks 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 15 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

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

[–] Heliumfart@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks 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 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks 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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[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Everything reminds me of him

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks 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 2 points 2 weeks ago

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

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