Worms found in Chornobyl may be immune to nuclear radiation, study suggests

These little worms are remarkably resistant to radiation, and could one day help researchers understand how to protect against carcinogens.

A certain kind of worm that researchers gathered around the site of the melted-down Chornobyl nuclear power plant has shown a remarkable resilience to nuclear radiation and seems to be largely unaffected living in the most radioactive place on Earth.

A study released last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and led by researchers at New York University (NYU), found that microscopic worms known as nematodes have a high capacity to withstand damage to its DNA — a finding that could help inform cancer research.

DNA and gene changes (also known as mutations) that affect cell growth are what cause cancer. For instance, smoking cigarettes or being exposed to too much UV radiation from the sun can cause DNA damage that can help cancer form and spread.

If these little nematodes can withstand Chornobyl-level radiation, perhaps one day they can be used to understand how to protect DNA against carcinogens.

“Chornobyl was a tragedy of incomprehensible scale, but we still don’t have a great grasp on the effects of the disaster on local populations,” said Sophia Tintori, a postdoctoral associate at NYU and the first author of the study, according to a press release from NYU.

Plants and animals continue to thrive in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, despite the high level of radiation that still plagues the restricted area around the melted-down facility. Hundreds of dogs inhabit the zone, though research has found that they appear physically and genetically different than their counterparts elsewhere.

Tintori and her colleagues set out to do similar research. But instead of sequencing the genomes of dogs, they investigated a species of nematodes called Oscheius tipulae. 

“These worms live everywhere, and they live quickly, so they go through dozens of generations of evolution while a typical vertebrate is still putting on its shoes,” said Matthew Rockman, a professor of biology at NYU and the study’s senior author.