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.
this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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i mean, presumably the melanin just turns the radiation into heat? Which yeah is technically harnessing energy but it isn't exactly creating ATP
And with a little CRISPR CAS-9, we can alter ourselves to become super-mutants or ghouls who can feed on ionizing radiation.
Then, finally, I'll be ready for the postapocalyptic nuclear wasteland.
It's unlikely that it provides anywhere near enough energy for animal life.
Not with that attitude.
I mean we’ll still need braiiiinnnss
So you're saying we need to significantly pump up the amount of radiation all over the world?
Proposed.
I can't find a single serious manuscript about radio synthesis.
These fungi have robust DNA repair which allows them to grow without competition from yeast or bacteria.
Oh shit, protomolecule is happening 😨
Upvoted for The Expanse reference.
This is so cool - I interpret this to mean that life will be found throughout the universe, as this allows for some micro organisms to survive deep space
Why else would life have this capability? Nature (evolution) prunes away unneeded features, so this capability, buried deep in various branches of life, is only useful when exposed to ionizing radiation....which only happens in deep space, or thru artificial means
Buckle yer safety belts folks, we gonna find some crazy moulds and stuff every where its warm and wet, including places that are "warm and wet" in a nuclear sense
i mean we are constantly bathed in ionizing radiation, just not that much of it.
Plus, maybe life just evolved on earth a lot earlier than we thought? In that case it might well have been exposed to greater levels of radiation than we currently are.
good points, and entirely possible
It dies not prune unnecessary features.
....fine, they get "de-selected", or whatever the correct term is, and it takes time a looooong time, I know
Why else would DNA harbour an ability to eat gamma radiation if it had not been necessary?
FYI: Adding some additional info, other than just saying "wrong" would def make for more interesting convos....just sayin