In the 1950s, scientists exposed a can of meat to a dose of radiation that they expected would kill all forms of life. But to their surprise, they discovered a surviving microorganism: the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans.


Deinococcus radiodurans has long been known for its amazing radiation resistance. It is able to withstand radiation doses thousands of times higher than what is needed to kill a human, earning it the nickname ‘Conan the Bacteria’.


Since its discovery, scientists have wondered why exactly that is Deinococcus radiodurans so resistant to radiation?


In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, researchers finally found an answer.


Three components found in a Deinococcus radiodurans cellmanganese ions, phosphate and peptidescome together to create a very powerful antioxidant that is more resistant to radiation than researchers expected.


Study co-author Brian Hoffmana chemist at Northwestern University, says that prior to the study he thought the answer would be a simple math problem: add the radioactive resistance of each component and calculate the total amount of radioactive resistance that the bacterium as a whole had.


But the results surprised him.


“Oh my God,” he remembers thinking. “There’s something new when you put the pieces together that makes it better than one or the other. It’s the combination (in which) they interact!”


In other words, the interaction between these three components is greater than the sum of their parts.


“We now have a much better understanding of the nature of the complex and how it is formed, which means we can now try to come up with ways to improve them,” says Michael Daliprofessor of pathology at the Uniformed Services University. Daly has studied Deinococcus radiodurans for decades and is a co-author on the paper.


The researchers hope that with this new understanding of Conan the Bacteria’s resistance to radioactivity, “better” could eventually mean innovations to protect people from radiation during deep space exploration or radiological emergencies here on Earth.


Want more stories about the microbial world? Email us at kortgolf@npr.org – we’d love to hear your opinion!


Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/kortegolf.


Listen to Korte Golf on Spotify And Apple podcasts.


This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez and Jordan Marie-Smith. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Gilly Moon and Ted Mebane.


Copyright 2024 NPR




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