Animalul microscopic care sfidează radiațiile. Urmașii săi repară ADN-ul distrus generații la rând • Newsweek România

A microscopic animal, Adineta vaga, can survive extreme radiation and pass on DNA repair capabilities to its descendants. This rotifer can reproduce even when its chromosomes are damaged, allowing the repair process to continue across generations. Researchers found that the rotifer can withstand radiation doses much higher than lethal levels for humans, with chromosomes often fragmented into many pieces. The repair mechanism, known as break-induced homologous extension repair (BIHER), utilizes intact chromosome pairs as templates for reconstruction. This extraordinary resilience likely evolved not for radiation resistance but as an adaptation to survive dehydration. Understanding these mechanisms may provide insights into DNA repair in cancer cells and the effects of radiation on humans during long space missions.