The Why Files: Operation Podcast - 579: Nuclear Powered Evolution | The Wolves of Chernobyl Reveal Human Potential

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

Scientists discovered something impossible in Chernobyl's radioactive ruins - life is thriving where nothing should survive. Animals aren't just living in lethal radiation zones, they're evolving faster than nature should allow. From Chernobyl to Bikini Atoll, creatures are activating ancient genetic sequences designed to process radiation. These same genes appear in human DNA, raising profound questions about our own origins. The implications stretch from Earth's ancient past to humanity's future among the stars. What we're learning about life in Earth's most radioactive places is changing our understanding of human potential.

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In the 50s, the United States tested 23 nuclear weapons at Bikini Atoll. The area is still radioactive, yet life flourishes there. Plants and animals grow faster than they should. After the Fukushima disaster, animals developed stronger antioxidant systems. They reproduced faster. This happened in just 15 years. How can plants and animals evolve so quickly? Well, they can't.

They activated ancient genetic sequences designed to survive radiation. Genes that were always there, waiting. And in Earth's most radioactive places, those genes are waking up. March 1, 1954. Bikini Atoll. Operation Castle, Test Bravo. The military expected a 5-megaton blast. They got 15. This miscalculation created a blast 1,000 times stronger than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Uh-oh. Someone forgot to carry the one.

The fireball reached 20 million degrees Fahrenheit in under a second. That's 2,000 times hotter than the sun's surface and twice the temperature of the sun's core. The mushroom cloud stretched 25 miles high. The blast carved a crater in the sea floor over a mile wide and 300 feet deep, deep enough for a 30-story building. Why the hell are you humans still messing with nukes? I honestly don't know.

It's a good thing the aliens will protect you. Will they? Yeah, protect or enslave. We'll find out soon enough. The explosion vaporized three small islands. The lagoon became a radioactive soup. Wind patterns spread fallout across thousands of miles. Locals suffered radiation sickness and evacuated.

Over four years, there were another 22 nuclear tests. Scientists believed nothing could survive this. They were wrong. Researchers found nearly 100 species of fish and coral thriving in radioactive water. What? This is how Godzilla was born. Yeah, I don't think... From the depths, dirty stories high.

Breathes fire, his head in the sky. Godzilla! Godzilla! Please stop. Godzilla! I'm begging you. And Gatsuki! The crater left by the nuclear bomb was covered in coral. Vast colonies of it.

Then the researchers found the crabs. Oh, they make a shampoo for that. No, no, no, no, no. Coconut crabs on the beach. Ah, that makes more sense. These crabs eat radioactive coconuts. The water, soil, and trees contain cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that destroys DNA and causes cancer. Tests showed lethal radiation levels in the crabs, but they're fine. Oh, maybe this explains the crab kit.

Let's stay focused. This pattern repeats at every nuclear disaster site. Different animals, same response. For some reason, nature knows how to handle radiation. But when did life develop these defenses and why? Well, years later, Chernobyl provided a clue. Deep in Ukraine's radioactive exclusion zone, something strange was happening to the wolves.

In 1986, a safety test at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant failed. The explosion released 400 times more radiation than Hiroshima. The Soviet military gave 100,000 residents hours to evacuate. They established a 1,000-square-mile exclusion zone around the reactor. The land was declared dead. Nature disagreed. In 2014, Dr. Kara Love studied wolves in the CEZ. Their bloodwork revealed genetic changes that defied evolution. In just 15 generations, the wolves activated specific DNA repair mechanisms.

Each generation grew more and more resistant to radiation. The wolves are exposed to six times the legal safety limit of radiation every day of their lives. Researchers identified the wolves' genetics seemed resilient to increased cancer risk. But wolves weren't the only animals changing. the wolves' genetics seemed resilient to increased cancer risk. But wolves weren't the only animals changing. When Chernobyl was evacuated, people were not allowed to bring their pets. Thousands of cats and dogs were left behind. Most of these animals died from radiation exposure, but not all of them.

Studies documented over 800 descendants of the original abandoned dogs living in the exclusion zone. What happened to the cats? Not much research when it's studying the cats. Because nobody cares. Stop it. DNA samples from the Chernobyl dogs show their genetics are so unique that they could be classified as a new species.

Other animals adapted differently. Eastern tree frogs are normally bright green. In Chernobyl, they're black. The increased melanin in their skin protects them from radiation. Birds in the zone develop darker feathers to survive. In 2013, a study revealed that they weren't creating new abilities.

They were awakening old ones. And then there's the fungus. Ah, didn't make a cream for that. No, not that kind. Hey, hey, hey, what did the mushroom say to the girl he was trying to pick up at the bar? Will you let me get through this, please? Oh, fine. Go ahead and kill all the fun, guy. Black fungi in Chernobyl don't just resist radiation, they eat it.

They grow toward the reactor core, converting gamma radiation to chemical energy, like plants convert sunlight. NASA tested these fungi on the International Space Station. They processed cosmic radiation in zero gravity. Similar species appeared at other radiation sites. At Fukushima, fungi activated their radiation processing abilities within hours of exposure. When radiation levels dropped, they returned to normal. Johns Hopkins discovered these fungi adapt to different radiation types, from gamma rays to beta particles.

Their genes contain instructions for processing all kinds of radiation. These same genes appear in 50 million year old fungi fossils. So why did ancient life forms develop protection against radiation? Dr. Lynn Rothschild is an astrobiologist at NASA. She says Earth's atmosphere millions of years ago provided less insulation from cosmic radiation.

For life to survive, it would have developed methods to protect itself and then pass them down through DNA. Now, this makes sense. But there's a hiccup. Cosmic radiation is mostly protons. The fungi have defenses against neutrons, beta particles, and gamma rays. These don't come from space.

These come from uranium nuclear reactors. Hang on, hang on, hang on. What? Humans didn't have nuclear reactors 50 million years ago. That's true, they didn't. So, what are you talking about? They found a nuclear reactor

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You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. When everyone's chasing the same finance positions, chartered business valuators stand out.

CBVs are an elite group of trusted professionals doing everything from deal advisory to litigation support to succession planning. CBVs are a preferred hire in investment banking, private equity, consulting, and many other areas, with the potential to earn seven figures at the pinnacle of their careers. If you're starting your career in finance, check out cbvinstitute.com slash becomeacbv. Your future self will thank you for it. There was a time in Earth's history when radiation was much, much higher. In Gabon, West Africa, scientists discovered evidence of at least 17 natural nuclear reactors

that operated 2 billion years ago. The Oklo reactors, as they're called, sustained nuclear fission for hundreds of thousands of years. And these reactors weren't small. Each site produced around 100 kilowatts of power. Groundwater moderated the reactions, creating natural on-off cycles, just like modern nuclear reactors. And who built the reactors?

Well... Yeah, Narnaki. Think about the Narnaki episode down in the old juicy jug. No, they're... It's from the nuclear war between Atlantis and Lemuria. Link to Atlantis episode stuffed in your booty box. No.

Oh, the nuclear war with Mars. Link to Mars episode down in your pucker pot. Well, scientists are pretty sure they're natural nuclear reactors. Yeah, but not 100% sure. Well, science can never be 100% sure about anything.

Aha! Okla wasn't unique. Similar isotope patterns in Colorado's uranium deposits suggest ancient fission reactions. Uranium mines in Australia show nuclear activity from billions of years ago. The Gunflint Chirrt contains Earth's oldest fossils, 1.9 billion-year microorganisms, with radiation adaptations

matching modern bacteria. Life maintained these defenses even as Earth's radiation levels decreased, like a biological memory. These mechanisms remained intact through billions of years of evolution. This is how evolution and genetics work. You know this. You also know that genes and traits that are no longer useful are eventually removed from the gene pool.

But if that's true, why are these genes still here? And why are they in human DNA? Radiation response mechanisms match genetic markers found in ancient human settlements. Our ancestors faced this before. They also developed radiation resistance. How do we know? Because their children are still here. In Ramsar, Iran, people live with radiation levels

10 times higher than safety limits, yet they have normal cancer rates and normal lifespans. What we found was that people who lived in the high background areas had significantly fewer induced chromosomal abnormalities than their neighbors who lived maybe just a few kilometers away where background radiation levels were normal. It sounds totally improbable, but it appears that radiation may actually help the body resist genetic damage.

Studies reveal Ramsar residents have enhanced DNA repair abilities. Their cells fix radiation damage faster than it accumulates. It's like a whole village of toxic Avengers. Really? What? It's a compliment. Things are gonna change in this town. I'm not just another pretty face.

Similar populations exist in other parts of the world. Guarupari in Brazil is famous for its beauty, biodiversity, and unique radioactive black sand. The Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission documented enhanced DNA repair in locals going back generations. These populations also have something else in common. Their settlements date back thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows continuous human habitation near natural radiation sources. Gobekli Tepe, one of humanity's oldest sites, is built near uranium deposits. Similar deposits lie beneath Mesopot of humanity's oldest sites, is built near uranium deposits.

Similar deposits lie beneath Mesopotamia's oldest cities. These radiation levels should have driven humans away. Instead, our ancestors stayed and became resistant. They passed that resistance to their children, who also passed it on. These protections are not just in the genes of people living near radioactive sites. They're in all of us. And they could be the catalyst for humanity's next great leap. Space agencies in every country are trying to unlock human potential. This potential might be achieved in space.

Enhanced DNA repair. Conscious control over our metabolism. Natural radiation shielding. Within a century, we might activate these dormant abilities at will. In a thousand years, as humans colonize space, different environments will drive unique adaptations. Colonists on Mars, Titan, and Europa will evolve differently. Each population will adapt to their local radiation signature and environment.

In 10,000 years, space-dwelling humans might process radiation like food. Their skin could generate protective fields. Their DNA might repair itself instantly. While this is purely speculation, we know these abilities exist in Chernobyl's fungi. That's why NASA is so interested in this. Further into the future, we might develop new senses. The ability to detect different types of radiation and heat. Enhanced vision that would allow us to see ultraviolet or infrared. Some animals on Earth already have these abilities.

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humans might develop senses that utilize quantum biology. Oh, quantum biology. Did you just make that up? Nope. European robins navigate perfectly in darkness across thousands of miles. Moths detect mates miles away. Plants convert sunlight with near-perfect efficiency. For decades, scientists couldn't explain these abilities. Now they think they know.

These animals are tapping into the quantum realm. The robin's eye contains a protein called cryptochrome. When struck by light, it creates quantum entangled electrons that react to the Earth's magnetic field. I think having studied quantum mechanics myself years and years ago, I would never have realized then or even believed, I think, that it would be possible that quantum mechanical effects could be actually housed within the eye of a bird. That is a huge surprise, and that's nothing we learned in quantum mechanics when I was young. One theory says that dogs' sense of smell uses quantum tunneling. They detect quantum vibrations of molecules that they perceive as scents. Even plants tap into the quantum realm.

When sunlight hits a leaf, it always chooses the most efficient route. The energy uses quantum superposition to explore all possible pathways at once. This is exactly how quantum computers work. Quantum apocalypse linked down in your sugar basket. In a million years, humans in space might develop similar abilities. The framework for this might already be in place.

I'm claiming that we need new physics to understand consciousness. Now, when I mean new physics here, I mean something outside the physics we know, but it's not simply invented for the purpose of explaining consciousness. It's something which I think we need anyway. Physicists Roger Penrose and Stuart Hemeroff believe consciousness comes from quantum processes in brain cells. Microtubules in the cells create quantum states that become conscious thought. I realize these microtubules are there, and they look like just the kind of thing

that could well be supporting the kind of level of quantum mechanics up to a level where you could expect the quantum state to sort of collapse. That's the terminology people use in quantum mechanics. And microtubules, they're inside brain neurons? They are indeed. You know how waves collapse into particles when they're observed? If you don't, the human explains it in a simulation theory episode linked down in your luscious love lock.

Think of your consciousness as waves of possibility. These waves exist in multiple states at once. When these quantum states collapse, you experience a moment of awareness. These waves exist in multiple states at once. When these quantum states collapse, you experience a moment of awareness. Whenever the state reduces, whenever the wave function collapses, that's what this is doing, it's associated with a moment of what we call proto-consciousness. For 30 years, scientists dismissed it as fringe thinking. But now the evidence is getting harder to ignore. Evidence is emerging that microtubules may exhibit interesting quantum behaviors after all.

There are certain quantum states in microtubules that if you have a coherent gravitational collapse of these, orchestrated collapse of these, somehow consciousness arises. Where now there is a concrete evidence that quantum physics has exactly the properties that describe consciousness in free will. If consciousness uses quantum mechanics, your thoughts transcend ordinary physics. Your consciousness could be part of a quantum reality that connects you and me and everyone across space and time. This sounds like speculation, but every mechanism I describe today exists in nature. Every adaptation has appeared in some form of life.

The quantum reality that creates your consciousness is the same quantum reality that governs everything in the universe. And everything in the universe, you, me, our planet, our sun, all come from the same source. The very matter that makes us up was generated long ago and far away in red giant stars. A blade of grass, as Walt Whitman said, is the journey work of the stars. Carl Sagan said we're made of star stuff.

The evidence suggests he was right in ways he never imagined. Those ancient stars didn't just create the atoms that make up our bodies. They might have encoded the blueprint for consciousness itself. I like this theory because it means we're all connected. Our time on Earth is short, but maybe that's the point. We're here to experience physical life and take those experiences back to our source, where we share them and learn from them. Maybe our real lives aren't here. Maybe our real lives are out there among the stars. Out there the stars are showing us we're part of a shared consciousness, temporarily wearing human form.

Out there, the stars are preparing us for an awakening that will reshape our reality. Out there, the stars are calling us home. Our ancestors worshipped the sun and they were far from foolish. It makes good sense to revere the sun and the stars. Because we are their children. much for hanging out today. My name is AJ. There's Hecklefish. This has been the Y-Files. If you had fun or learned anything, do him a favor, subscribe, comment, like, share. It's a small thing for you, but it's really huge for us. Like most topics we cover on the channel, today's was recommended by you. So if there's a story you'd like to see or learn more about, go to the Y-Files.com slash tips. Remember, the Y-Files is

also a podcast. Twice a week, I post deep dives into the stories we cover here on the channel, and I also post episodes that wouldn't be allowed on the channel. Like, I think this week we're doing Nazi prophecies. Oh, I shouldn't have said the N-word. Am I already demonetized?

I'm leaving it in. Anyway, the podcast is called The Y-Files Operation Podcast, and it's available everywhere. Now, if you need more Y-Files in your life, you may want to see a doctor. But if you do need more Y-Files, Operation Podcast, and it's available everywhere. Now, if you need more Y-Files in your life, you may want to see a doctor. But if you do need more Y-Files, check out our Discord. We just crossed 70,000 members, so there's someone on there 24-7, and they're into the same stuff that we are here.

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at least two private live streams every week, just for members. And they're really different. My webcam is on. You get to meet the whole team. You turn your camera on, jump up on stage, ask a question, suggest a topic, talk about anything you like. I think it's the best perk there is. Another great way to support the channel is grab something from the Wipeout store. Grab a heck of a t-shirt or one of these coffee mugs that you can stick your fist in or whatever radiated deformed limb that you got you

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I played Polybius in Area 51 A secret code inside the Bible said I was I love my UFOs and paranormal fun As well as music, so I'm singing like I should But then another conspiracy theory Becomes the truth, my friends And it never ends No, it never ends I fear the crab cat and I got stuck inside Mel's home

With MKL truck being only two away Did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landing alone On a film set or were the shadow people there The Roswell aliens just fought the smiling man, I'm told And his name was Cole And I can't believe I'm dancing with the fishes Heckle fish on Thursday nights with AJ2 And the wild boars have been beat all through the night

All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So one more time repeat All through the night The Mothman sightings and the solar storm still come To have got the secret city underground Mysterious number stations, planets are both two Project Stargate and where the Dark Watchers found. In a simulation, don't you worry though, the Black Knight said a lot, he told me so. I can't believe I'm dancing with the fish,

and the fish are thirsty next Wednesday day too, and the wild birds are their feet up through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So the wild birds have their feet up through the night Heckle fish on Thursday nights when they chase you And the wild birds have time repeat all through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So one more time repeat all through the night Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance

Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance on the dance floor Because she is a camel Camels love to dance When the feeling is right on wasting time Good enough to be Good enough to be

You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth. While curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible.