Like our immunity system gets stronger against usual viruses and bacterias, can we evolute to grow more immune to radiation during generations? (I know it’s different things and responses, it’s just an example)
If yes, how?
If not, why?
In: Biology
So resistance to radiation come in a few different forms. One that is common is DNA repair enzymes or biological means to deal with damaged DNA. So at an ELI5 level if radiation damages the DNA it is sometimes possible for these enzymes to fix it, but not always. Some organisms have many more DNA repair enzymes and can be more resistant to radiation to an extent. The other process is a cell can detect something wrong with the DNA and basically kill itself so it doesn’t harm the organism Taking one for the team if you will.
Another thing some microbes do is shield their DNA from the damage of the radiation. In essence using some substance that will absorb the energy of the radiation before it damages the DNA. There is fungus that survives inside Chernobyl in high radiation environment that would be lethal to humans. It uses melanin, a molecule similar to that makes brown skin in humans (not melanin can come in different forms). And in fact melanin works to protect humans from UV radiation too. But the fungus noted above takes it to a much higher level. It is also thought this fungus uses radiation as an energy source for food too.
So we could theoretically evolve to handle more radiation but not be completely resistant though. As radiation levels get higher and higher there is too much damage being caused for a cell or organism to survive even with more of the protections noted above.
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