<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Rare breed</h2>

Prancer is no ordinary dog. She is friendly, wags her tail and dances with joy. But she also lives at the ChernobylThe disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine. nuclear power plant in Ukraine, one of the most contaminated places on Earth.

New research shows that hundreds of strays at Chernobyl are genetically distinct from the rest of the world's 900 million dogs.¹ Scientists hope this isolated group will help us understand how life can survive nuclear radiationEnergy given off when radioactive material decays. It can be extremely harmful and sometimes fatal, causing vomiting, skin damage, hair loss and cancer..

In 1986, an explosion at Chernobyl caused a nuclear fallout. It sent 400 times more radioactive material into the atmosphere than the HiroshimaA Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in World War II. and NagasakiA city in Japan that was hit by an atomic bomb during World War Two. bombs combined. The worst nuclear accident in history, it poisoned all life for miles around.

Residents were forced to evacuate and they left behind their pet dogs. Most died, but some survived. They roamed the ruins, formed packs and began to thrive.

According to researcher Tim Mousseau, analysing their DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information. is a "unique opportunity" to learn how life adapts to hostile environments. So could these mutant strays save humanity from a nuclear apocalypse?

High levels of radiation mutate DNA and deform cells. Many animals near Chernobyl have short lives, develop cancers and are infertile. And experts warn that a nuclear winter caused by today's bombs would be far worse than anything seen at Chernobyl.

Others argue that life in the Exclusion Zone shows how nature thrives when humans disappear. Wildlife is flourishing. After 15,000 years of domestication, dogs are going back to their ancestral wolfish ways.

But because the canine and human genomes are quite similar, the domestic dog is a model for how long-term exposure may affect human DNA.

Which may be important for our future. In outer space, humans are exposed to high levels of radiation. Closer to home, Russian bombing has cut power six times to Ukraine's largest nuclear plant - risking a reactor meltdown.

There are many myths surrounding the effects of nuclear radiation. For example, the Chernobyl dogs do not glow in the dark.

However, their fate may be closely entwinedInterlinked or tangled. with our own. No other species has spent so long in our company. And they may still be able to teach us a few things about how to survive the future.

Yes: We have developed technology capable of wiping out all life on Earth. The only silver lining to the tragedy at Chernobyl may be that it makes us better prepared for nuclear fallout in the future.

No: A small group of stray dogs can't save us from ourselves. Nuclear radiation is the least of our worries. Global warming and conventionalStandard or regular. warfare are far greater threats to humanity.

Or... It's early days for this exciting research and many unknowns. But mutation is a fundamental part of evolution and all life on Earth. Therefore we must understand it better.

Chernobyl - The disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine.

Radiation - Energy given off when radioactive material decays. It can be extremely harmful and sometimes fatal, causing vomiting, skin damage, hair loss and cancer.

Hiroshima - A Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in World War II.

Nagasaki - A city in Japan that was hit by an atomic bomb during World War Two.

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.

Entwined - Interlinked or tangled.

Conventional - Standard or regular.