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 fukushima's mutant butterflies.

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tayer
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PostSubject: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeSun Aug 26, 2012 12:58 pm

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It’s been nearly 18 months since the Tohuku earthquake and tsunami decimated northern Japan, and the locals are quite literally still dealing with the fallout. And by locals, I don’t just mean people.

Lingering radiation around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is producing unnerving effects on wildlife near the plant. A new study published in Nature‘s Scientific Reports charts the increasingly dramatic mutations of the pale grass blue butterfly in the area. Starting in May 2011, the researchers began collecting samples of the butterflies and found some mild abnormalities. Some of them had strange spots on their wings and dents in their eyes. However, they found that these mutations got dramatically worse from generation to generation, and some of those in the most recent sample population are hardly recognizable. Their wings are mangled, their legs and antennae deformed, their abdomens misshapen. It’s not a good look.

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Scientists are sure that radiation is to blame for the butterflies’ mutation. To confirm the cause, they took normal pale grass blue butterflies from areas not affected by the disaster and exposed them to radiation in a laboratory setting. This produced the same sorts of abnormalities that they found in the Fukushima butterflies. There are also precedents for this sort of thing. “Our results are consistent with the previous field studies that showed that butterfly populations are highly sensitive to artificial radionuclide contamination in Chernobyl and Fukushima,” the study says. “Together, the present study indicates that the pale grass blue butterfly is probably one of the best indicator species for radionuclide contamination in Japan.”

The big question, of course, is what this means for the human beings living near the plant. While there have been no radiation-related deaths at Fukushima, over 100 people have been exposed to levels likely to cause cancer later in life. Mutations, however, are unlikely. “Sensitivity (to irradiation) varies between species, so research should be conducted on other animals,” one of the researchers told the Japan Times. “Humans are totally different from butterflies and they should be far more resistant.” Either way, mangled mutant butterflies aren’t a good sign.

If only all the Fukushima mutants could be as cute as the earless bunny born by the plant last year. However, unlike the poor pale grass blue butterflies, the bunny’s affliction was probably just a birth defect. And an adorable defect at that.

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tayer
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeSun Aug 26, 2012 12:58 pm

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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeSun Aug 26, 2012 2:00 pm

Pretty Butterfly thoughx
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeSun Aug 26, 2012 4:34 pm

i has one huge eye....it looks like an ugly moth...
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 4:02 pm

They are gorgeous

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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 4:06 pm

Eurghhhx
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Melody
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 4:23 pm

Aaaah this is quite sad really... We only tend to think how these kinds of disasters affect us humans or larger animals by the way their homes are destroyed. We never would imagine about how it can cause such severe mutations like this. Can you imagine if it was really apparent in humans?....


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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 11:07 pm

would this continue to evolve in this way?
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 11:18 pm

I reckon that they wouldn't be able to breed for too long Tayer. Survival of the fittest and healthiest hopefully. If they did carry on breeding and had any defects, then chances are the young would have difficulty in surviving...

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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 11:19 pm

yeah i suppose...thought for a minute...we were gonna have ugly butterflies///lol
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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 11:38 pm

I think that's what a moth is... isn't it ha ha

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PostSubject: Re: fukushima's mutant butterflies.   fukushima's mutant butterflies. Icon_minitimeTue Sep 04, 2012 11:54 pm

some moths are pretty, just a butterfly on steroids...lol
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