36 years after the catastrophic meltdown of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant triggered one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, the mutated black frog is laying eggs near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Oriental tree frogs should have bright green skin, but scientists working near Chernobyl found that many tree frogs have darker skin colors, even black.
1986, in northern Ukraine, then under Soviet rule, the nuclear power plant witnessed the largest scale of radioactive material released into the environment in human history.
Now, scientists believe that the dark skin of the mutant frogs may help them survive in the restricted zone, which today restricts people from accessing 10,000 square miles around the nuclear power plant.
"We were looking for these frogs near damaged power plants and we found that many of the frogs are black."
"We knew melanin is the cause of dark or black in many organisms, including frogs."
"We knew that melanin is the cause of dark or black in many organisms, including frogs."
" At the same time, we knew that melanin protects organisms from different types of radiation, from ultraviolet to ionizing radiation -- the kind of radiation in Chernobyl."
" In their study, Dr. Orizaola and his co-author Pablo, were known to protect organisms from different types of radiation, from ultraviolet to ionizing radiation -- the kind of radiation in Chernobyl."
" In their study, Dr. Orizaola and his co-author Pablo, Burraco collected more than 200 male frogs from 12 breeding pools with different radiation levels.
They found that the frogs in the penalty area were much darker than the frogs outside the penalty area.
Although there is no connection between the blackest frog today and the most affected area, it is related to the most affected area when the accident occurs.
In other words, when the disaster occurred in 1986, darker colored frogs had better chances of survival, which made them more numerous today. "For this species, under normal circumstances, it is possible to find a small number of frogs with unusual colors."
" This small number will benefit from the protection of melanin, especially when the accident occurs, when the radiation level is much higher, and the radioisotope is more extensive. diversity of is also more extensive."
" In this case, they should survive better and reproduce better than normal green frogs.
" After the accident, the frogs have bred for 10 to 12 generations over time, which will result in these black frogs dominating the restricted area. "
However, it is not yet clear whether black frogs will continue to dominate due to much lower radiation levels today. "Because the protective effect of melanin is not that critical now, they may gradually disappear as the radiation levels drop significantly. "
" However, our research also shows that it doesn't seem to cost a lot to keep this black color. For example, oxidative stress levels did not increase. So it may continue. "
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