Fungi that EATS radiation found thriving inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor could be used like a 'sun block' for humans to protect against deadly rays

A strand of fungi which spawned inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor and eats radiation could allow humans to insulate against deadly rays.

In 1991, five years after the disaster which rocked Ukraine, the black fungi was found sprouting up the walls of the abandoned reactor which had been flooded with gamma.

Baffled how it managed to survive the extreme conditions, scientists examined the microorganism - and were even more excited with their findings.

In addition to not perishing, they discovered that the fungi actually grows towards the radiation, as if attracted to it.

This is because of its large amounts of melanin - the pigment which turns skin dark - and allows the fungi to absorb normally harmful rays which it then converts into chemical energy. 

In the same way in which plants convert carbon dioxide and chlorophyll into oxygen and glucose via photosynthesis, the fungi sapped up deadly rays which allowed it to produce energy.

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