Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation
Posted March 5, 2008 
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The fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum can harness dangerous radiation to grow.
Fungi could eat dangerous radiation to survive, an unexpected finding that could one day help feed astronauts in space — at least those willing to eat a crawling fungus.
The research began with the discovery of black fungus growing on the walls of the damaged, highly radioactive Chernobyl nuclear reactor and collected by robots.
The fungus was rich with melanin, the same pigment that gives human skin its color, protecting the skin from solar and ultraviolet radiation. Melanin is found in many, if not most, fungal species.
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“The fungal kingdom comprises more species than any other plant or animal kingdom,” said researcher Arturo Casadevall, an immunologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
