Can the Dogs of Chernobyl Teach Us New Tricks About Survival?
Can We Learn Something About Survival from Chernobyl's Dogs?
The dogs of Chernobyl are still free to explore the area more than 35 days after the greatest nuclear accident in history, finding food and breeding despite the plant being shuttered.
The research of these dogs is being done in the hopes that we, as humans, might learn new tactics for surviving in the harshest, most degraded conditions.
On Friday, the first of what scientists hope will be many genetic tests on 302 free-roaming dogs residing in a declared "exclusion zone" around the accident site was published in the journal Veterinary Science Advances. They found groups whose dogs would have been genetically distinguishable from others around the world because of differences in their exposure to radiation.
To find out "how can you survive in a hostile environment like this for 15 generations," "we've had this amazing opportunity." according to Elaine Ostrander, a scientist at the National Human Genome Research Center and co-author on the paper.
Dogs, according to Tim Mousseau, a professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina and co-author on the study, "offer an amazing tool to look at the crashes of this kind of setting" on mammals in general.
There is a genetic revolt against otherness in dogs.
It's hard to find a place as harsh as Chernobyl. After an explosion and fire at a factory in the Ukraine on April 26, 1986, radioactive fallout was released into the air. Thirty workers were killed instantly, and hundreds more are expected to perish from radiation sickness in the years to come.
The majority of the studied canines are said to be direct offspring of pets that locals were compelled to leave behind when they moved.
Since the late 1990s, when Mousseau first started collecting blood from the canines in the Chernobyl area, he has been quite successful. In a dystopian, factory-like environment, some of the dogs make their home. Some are within 9 or 15 kilometers, while others are within 45 or 28 miles.
Ostrander added that initially, they had assumed that the dogs would be essentially identical due to interbreeding. Dogs from high-, medium-, and low-radiation locations may be distinguished without the need for DNA testing.
For us, that was a major turning point," Ostrander reflected. Furthermore, "what's astonishing is that we can even identify families," and we can do it for 15 distinct families.
Researchers can now start looking for Genetic changes.
We may look at their DNA and ask, "What makes you unique, what has changed, what has mutated, what has evolved, what helps you, and what damages you?" According to what Ostrander has claimed. In order to distinguish between accidental and intentional DNA modifications, this will be crucial.
The collection of data is a powerful tool for discovery.
The findings may have far-reaching implications, according to the scientists, as they may shed light on the survival strategies of animals and humans in areas that are subject to "constant environmental attack" or in the high-radiation environment of space.
Veterinarian and Purdue University professor Dr. Kari Ekenstedt, who sadly passed away before the study's completion, called it "a first step toward answering key questions" concerning the long-term effects of radiation exposure on large mammals. For instance, she questioned whether or not "it is going to be rapidly modifying their genomes."
More time will be spent with the dogs at the site, which is located 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Kyiv, as researchers have already begun the follow-up investigation. According to Mousseau, he and his coworkers visited the area in October and saw no signs of war groups. Mousseau revealed that the group has formed strong bonds with a number of dogs, nicknamed one "Prancer" after the way she bounds up to greet visitors.
Despite their untamed nature, he said, "they very much appreciate human connection, especially when there's food involved."