Sunday 6 February 2011

Chernobyl birds have smaller brains

Another good reason to say NO to nuclear - while our brains are still big
enough!


Birds living around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident have 5% smaller brains, an effect directly linked to lingering background radiation.
The finding comes from a study of 550 birds belonging to 48 different species living in the region, published in the journal PLoS One. Brain size was significantly smaller in yearlings compared to older birds. Smaller brain sizes are thought to be linked to reduced cognitive ability. The discovery was made by a team of researchers from Norway, France and the US led by Professor Timothy Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, and Dr Anders Moller from the University of Paris-Sud, France.

Full article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9387000/9387395.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9387000/9387395.stm