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Podcast: Short Wave
Episode:

Conan The Bacterium's Superpower: Resisting Radiation

Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:08:49
Publish Date: 2024-12-13 08:00:59
Description: In the 1950s, scientists exposed a tin of meat to a dose of radiation that they expected would kill all forms of life. But one organism defied the odds and lived: Conan The Bacterium. Turns out this microorganism, known to science as Deinococcus radiodurans, is capable of surviving extreme levels of radiationthousands of times the amount that would kill a human. So what's Conan's secret?

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