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I thought there was bacteria that used nuclear radiation to sustain themselves. They aren't doing fission...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061019192814.ht...



Those are really just feeding on the reactive chemical species produced by the ionizing radiation from nuclear decays in the rock. Pretty nifty, and I hadn't heard of them before.

The other possible answer to this that I know of are the fungi who might be able to derive metabolic energy from gamma rays--- though last I checked it wasn't entirely certain that's what they're doing.




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