Chernobil’s disaster is one of those moments in the story that we all know, either for the books or for the famous homonym series of a few years ago and that caused fury thanks to its narrative and its visual quality. This nuclear incident occurred in 1986 in Ukraine, when this country was still under the domain of the Soviets, who tried to hide their existence until it was practically impossible and had to recognize it public, something that was a hard blow to the regime.
The truth is that this disaster still lasts, not only in the memory of people, but in the environment place. A clear example is the dogs that were abandoned once the mass evacuation of the population was carried out, which today have managed to survive the radiation that has attracted the attention of many scientists for their genetic composition and unknown adaptations.
The most unexpected survivors in a hostile environment
In spite Distributed among the ruins of the abandoned city of Pripiat, the vicinity of the nuclear plant and other very close areas.
This does not have to surprise us at the moment, but the most interesting of all is that these dogs have developed a genetic composition different from that of other dog populations in the world, which is of course quite curious and that scientists are examining With great interest. The first doubts arise around the question of whether these changes are due to radiation or the natural selection process that has occurred by being submitted to such a difficult and unique environment.
The challenge for science that Chernobil dogs suppose
Speculations within the scientific population about Chernobyl dogs have been around the scientific population for years, which focused on the fact that the greatest number of genetic mutations that could be found in these animals was due to radiation, although this this It is something that recent has been questioned in a study by PLOS One magazine.
In an article published in it, the possibility that this theory was incorrect is exposed, since several scientists have analyzed the DNA of the different groups of Chernobyl dogs reaching the conclusion that in truth the number of mutations that individuals have It is not much greater than that of other dog populations in the world in normal conditions.
“With this study, we do not find evidence of a higher mutation rate for the population of dogs of the nuclear power plant through chromosomal aberrations, a greater diversity of microsatellites or an increase in more recently derived alleles. Therefore, the mutation does not seem to be the cause of genetic differentiation previously identified between these two geographically close populations of dogs raised in freedom ”the authors of the study conclude.
This generates a series of doubts in the scientific community, since they do not know very well how to explain the evolution so particular that Chernobyl dogs have had, although the truth is that the first hypotheses revolve around that the key is in a phenomenon known as directional selection. This phenomenon comes to say that instead of being mutations generated by the radiation caused by the 1986 accident, the differences are mainly due to survival in a hostile environment of certain individuals with some specific characteristics above others that do not have them .
