Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

February 8, 2020 (Foxnews.com) A type of black fungus that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. In 1991, the strange fungus was found growing up the walls of the reactor, which baffled scientists due to the extreme, radiation-heavy environment.

Ruined reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in in 2016 (iStock)

Researchers eventually realized that not only was the fungi impervious to the deadly radiation, it seemed to be attracted to it. A decade later, researchers tested some of the fungi and determined that it had a large amount of the pigment melanin -- which is also found, among other places, in the skin of humans.