Animals living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone appear to be going blind as a result of the radiation from the nuclear disaster in 1986. Scientists found bank voles at the site had high frequency of cataracts, and that this is likely the result of background radiation that lingers there. An international team of researchers led by Philipp Lehmann and Tapio Mappes from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said the prevalence of cataracts in mammal populations and their ecological significance is not well understood. Cataracts (clouding of the lens, which reduces light transmission to the retina) have been found to arise from high levels of oxidative stress – and one major cause of this stress is ionising radiation.
IB Times 11th Feb 2016 read more »
Independent 11th Feb 2016 read more »