Rapid Evolution

ON APRIL 26, 1986, THE No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukrainethen part of the Soviet Union-exploded, sending a massive plume of radiation into the sky. Nearly four decades later, the facility and much of the surrounding area remain uninhabited-by humans, at least.

- 

Animals of all kinds have thrived there in humanity's absence. Living among radiation-resistant fauna are thousands of feral dogs, many of whom are descendants of pets left behind in the speedy evacuation of the area so many years ago.

Scientists from the University of South Carolina and the National Human Genome Research Institute have begun examining the DNA of 302 feral dogs found in and around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) to better understand how radiation may have altered their genomes-and even, possibly, sped up evolution.