{"id":9938,"date":"2026-11-04T10:25:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T10:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938"},"modified":"2026-11-04T10:25:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T10:25:27","slug":"chernobyls-dogs-may-be-evolving-but-scientists-dont-know-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938","title":{"rendered":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The researchers also don\u2019t have access to longitudinal samples that would show exactly how this population has changed over time. \u201cIt&#8217;s almost like looking at a single still image and trying to figure out what came before it,\u201d said Matthew Breen, a professor of genomics at North Carolina State University and the study\u2019s senior author. \u201cThose first few years were probably the most critical period\u2014if they were selected, that&#8217;s when that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/gene-edited-puppies-wont-trigger-allergies\/\" class=\"text link\">selection process<\/a> would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">It\u2019s not possible to go back and get samples from the dogs who lived there in 1986, a time when no organism\u2014not even a bacterium\u2014had its full genome sequenced. Breen was a graduate student in England then. \u201cI was involved in a project driving around the Welsh mountain hills, collecting sheep from the pastures because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/radiation-detection-systems-are-quietly-running-in-the-background-all-around-you\/\" class=\"text link\">radioactive cloud<\/a> had blown over Western Europe,\u201d he recalled. There wasn\u2019t anything to see in the data gathered then, but the technology has evolved, and those sheep had also not been living at the center of a nuclear meltdown for generations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Nearly four decades after the accident, the Chernobyl exclusion zone has also become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/abandoned-farms-are-a-hidden-resource-for-restoring-biodiversity\/\" class=\"text link\">refuge for wildlife<\/a>. Wolves, deer, wild boars, and lynx now roam the area\u2014a return that researchers largely attribute to the decline in human activity. Among some of these residents, such as the wolf population, researchers have also observed similar genomic distinctions to those seen in the dogs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cIt really demonstrates the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/ukraine-scientists-ecological-legacy-conservation\/\" class=\"text link\">resilience of nature<\/a> to catastrophic events caused by humans,\u201d Breen said. \u201cYou push something in one direction, it can respond to that and either push back or deviate its path going forward. I think this is what we&#8217;re seeing here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\"><em>This story originally appeared on<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/es.wired.com\/articulos\/los-perros-de-chernobil-podrian-estar-evolucionando-pero-los-cientificos-no-saben-por-que\" class=\"text link\">WIRED en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a> <em>and has been translated from Spanish.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\"><em>Additional reporting from Anna Rogers<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/chernobyls-dogs-may-be-evolving-but-scientists-dont-know-why\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The researchers also don\u2019t have access to longitudinal samples that would show exactly how this population has changed over time. \u201cIt&#8217;s almost like looking at a single still image and trying to figure out what came before it,\u201d said Matthew Breen, a professor of genomics at North Carolina State University and the study\u2019s senior author. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[303,1608,1610,947,1609,898,1153,1527,1611,744,1612],"class_list":["post-9938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-animals","tag-chernobyl","tag-dna-analysis","tag-dogs","tag-domestication","tag-evolution","tag-genetics","tag-genomics","tag-nuclear","tag-pollution","tag-radiation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\"},\"headline\":\"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938\"},\"wordCount\":324,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/492210506.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"animals\",\"chernobyl\",\"dna analysis\",\"dogs\",\"domestication\",\"evolution\",\"genetics\",\"genomics\",\"nuclear\",\"pollution\",\"radiation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938\",\"name\":\"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/492210506.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/492210506.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/492210506.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=9938#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"description\":\"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"width\":1115,\"height\":522,\"caption\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\",\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SILVYBRAND\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","og_description":"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.","og_url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938","og_site_name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","article_published_time":"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"SILVYBRAND","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SILVYBRAND","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938"},"author":{"name":"SILVYBRAND","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3"},"headline":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why","datePublished":"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938"},"wordCount":324,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp","keywords":["animals","chernobyl","dna analysis","dogs","domestication","evolution","genetics","genomics","nuclear","pollution","radiation"],"articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938","name":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp","datePublished":"2026-11-04T10:25:27+00:00","description":"A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it\u2019s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/492210506.webp","width":1280,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=9938#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chernobyl\u2019s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don\u2019t Know Why"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","width":1115,"height":522,"caption":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3","name":"SILVYBRAND","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SILVYBRAND"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com"],"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}