Mould found at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster appears to be feeding off the radiation. Could we use it to shield space travellers from cosmic rays?
In May 1997, Nelli Zhdanova entered one of the most radioactive places on Earth – the abandoned ruins of Chernobyl's exploded nuclear power plant – and saw that she wasn't alone.
Across the ceiling, walls and inside metal conduits that protect electrical cables, black mould had taken up residence in a place that was once thought to be detrimental to life.
In the fields and forest outside, wolves and wild boar had rebounded in the absence of humans. But even today there are hotspots where staggering levels of radiation can be found due to material thrown out from the reactor when it exploded.