homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Mutation in daisies near Fukushima might not be caused by radiation

After a twitter user and photographer from a city 110 km from Fukushima posted photos of mutated flowers, people started to freak out all over the internet that these plants suffered mutations due to the devastating nuclear incident from 2011 in Fukushima, Japan. According to the photographer @san_kaido, the radiation level near the daisies was measured […]

Alexandra Gerea
July 24, 2015 @ 2:16 pm

share Share

via Twitter user

Image via Twitter User San Kaido

After a twitter user and photographer from a city 110 km from Fukushima posted photos of mutated flowers, people started to freak out all over the internet that these plants suffered mutations due to the devastating nuclear incident from 2011 in Fukushima, Japan. According to the photographer @san_kaido, the radiation level near the daisies was measured at 0.5 μSv/h at 1m above the ground, which in fact is not much higher than the normal values.

In other words, no reason to freak out.

via

Fasciated strawberries via reddit

The mutation of plants, daisies in our case, is not really that uncommon in nature as you might expect. The process that causes these deformations is called fasciation and it can be caused by the hormonal imbalances, infections, genetics and even environment which also includes bacterial and viral infections, some types of fungi, insect attack and also the exposure to chemicals (mostly in agriculture). Yep, lots of things can cause it.

It surprisingly common in strawberries and even tomatoes. They may look odd, but consuming these fruits and vegetables that went through fasciation is harmless to the human body. Also the good part is that fasciation isn’t contagious so you can have a plant with mutations near other normal plants and they won’t be affected in any way.
According to Scott Morris on Garden Toolbox:

“It should be noted that just because a plant has fasciation, it doesn’t mean it will still be affected when it dies and comes back the next year – there’s no guarantee. In many cases it has been reported that plants are 100 percent fine the following year and show no sign of being fasciated, especially in perennial plants. Do bear in mind, that if the cause is genetic, there is a strong chance of reoccurrence and you may very well have to dispose of the plant completely.”

via reddit

Fasciated daisy in natural environment via reddit

At the same time it is important not to forget that it is a possibility that the plants were actually affected by radiation, according to a study from 2009 by the researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, it seems that the fasciation can be induced by gamma-irradiation:

The proportion of plants showing stem fasciation increased with gamma-irradiation … Each single mutant also showed stem fasciation at a low frequency without gamma-irradiation, while gamma-irradiation induced stem fasciation. Importantly, in wild-type plants, the frequency of stem fasciation was very low (<0.1 percent) [but] were induced by gamma-irradiation.

Whether or not these daisies suffered the mutation due to radiation or not it is important to keep in mind that nature is strange, and sometimes, strange things happening are completely natura. Until further research and experiments it is better that we think about all the possibilities and question everything.

share Share

This beautiful rock holds evidence of tsunamis from 115 million years ago

The waves that shook the world 115 million years ago left behind an amber trail.

New Version of LSD Boosts Brain Plasticity Without the Psychedelic Trip

An LSD-inspired drug boosts brain growth without triggering hallucinations.]

The World's First Mass-Produced Flying Car Is Here and It Costs $1 Million

The AirCar aims for commercial launch in 2026.

Working overtime may be reshaping your brain

Overwork is altering brain regions tied to emotion and decision-making.

How not to cry when cutting onion — according to physics

Avoiding tears when cutting onions may be as simple as checking your knife.

Astronomers Found a Perfect Space Bubble Dozens of Light-Years Across and No One Knows How It Got There

An almost flawless spherical shell has astronomers questioning what they know about stellar death.

This Assassin Bug Uses Chemical Trick as Fake Emergency Call to Lure Bees to Their Death

A clever invertebrate uses chemical cues to lure its prey straight into its grasp

Wild Chimpanzees Are Combining Calls in Ways That Mirror Human Speech, Hint At Origins of Language

Chimp vocal combinations hint at roots of human language.

You Don’t Need Drugs to Trigger the Ozempic Hormone. This Is What to Eat Instead

While natural approaches to raising GLP-1 are not as potent as medications, they provide a drug-free approach to weight loss and healthy eating.

The Strongest Solar Storm Ever Was 500 Times More Powerful Than Anything We've Seen in Modern Times. It Left Its Mark in a 14,000-Year-Old Tree

The ancient event, over 500 times stronger than any modern storm, would be devastating were it to happen today.