Raimund Linke/Getty Images
Raimund Linke/Getty Images
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster occurred, spreading radioactive materials across northern Ukraine and Belarus. It was a catastrophic nuclear incident, leading to the evacuation of over one hundred thousand people from the surrounding area due to the health risks posed by radioactive waste. Although most people have not returned to the area, gray wolves remained. Unlike humans, gray wolves never left the area. In fact, the local wolf population has thrived over the years, becoming seven times denser than populations in protected lands elsewhere in Belarus. This has prompted scientists to question whether the wolves are genetically resistant or resilient to cancer, or if they are thriving simply because humans are not interfering with them.
In this episode, researchers Shane Campbell-Staton and Cara Love discuss the potential reasons behind this population growth. They also delve into why researchers in the field of human cancer are keen to collaborate with them. If you are interested in learning about other ways humans are impacting the planet, you can reach out to us at shortwave@npr.org. You can listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. Additionally, you can access every episode of Short Wave without sponsor ads and support our work at NPR by joining Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave. This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino and edited by Rebecca Ramirez, with fact-checking by Brit Hanson and audio engineering by Josh Newell.
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