From: Christian Weisgerber (naddy@mips.inka.de)
Date: Fri Dec 20 2002 - 12:36:31 MST
John K Clark <jonkc@att.net> wrote:
> I don't know if Panspermia is true or not but the fact that a bacteria like
> Deinococcus radiodurans exists is very puzzling. A radiation level of just
> 500 rads can kill a human but D. radiodurans not only lives but thrives
> after being hit with 1.5 million rads, and if you freeze the bacteria first
> it lives even after 3 million rads. Why would Evolution go to all the
> trouble to provide that much protection against a threat it is unlikely to
> ever see? Perhaps the radiation protection is just a byproduct of something
> else or maybe their is a more radical answer.
I seem to recall that D. radiodurans is robust against desiccation
and that the radiation resistence is indeed just a byproduct of
that.
-- Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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