Bacteria Found in Nuclear Reactors Could Be the Secret to Faster, Cheaper Vaccines

Bacteria Found in Nuclear Reactors Could Be the Secret to Faster, Cheaper Vaccines: The extremophile bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was first discovered in 1956 at Oregon State University, where it was busy ruining a gamma ray experiment designed to sterilize a tin of ground meat. The “sterilized” meat spoiled, thanks to D. radiodurans and its preternatural durability in the face of radiation: The hearty microbe can withstand somewhere up to 5,000 gray (Gy), or about 1,500 times the dose that would kill a human being.