Scientists have said that humans could live on Mars only if fungi found inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor is used to protect against radiation.

科学家称，只有利用在切尔诺贝利核反应堆中发现的真菌来防辐射，人类才能在火星上生存。

According to researchers, a layer of fungus, that is around 21 centimetres thick, could "largely negate the annual dose-equivalent of the radiation environment on the surface of Mars".

研究人员称，约21厘米厚的真菌层就能“大大减少相当于火星表面辐射环境中一年的辐射量”。

Nils Averesch, Stanford researcher and study co-author told a science website called New Scientist: "What makes the fungus great is that you only need a few grams to start out."

这项研究的作者之一、斯坦福大学研究员Nils Averesch对科学网站New Scientist说：“这种真菌的厉害之处在于只需几克就能防辐射。”

"It self-replicates and self-heals, so even if there's a solar flare that damages the radiation shield significantly, it will be able to grow back in a few days."

“它可以自我复制和自愈，所以即使太阳耀斑严重破坏辐射防护层，几天后也能恢复如初。”

The fungi have been able to absorb harmful cosmic rays on the International Space Station (ISS). It could be used to protect future colonies on Mars.

这种真菌能吸收国际空间站上的有害宇宙射线，可以保护火星上未来的殖民地。

In 1986, a power station on the outskirts of Pripyat suffered a massive accident in which one of the reactors caught fire and exploded, spreading radioactive material into the surroundings. It was one of the biggest disasters in Ukraine. Five years later, in 1991 black fungi was found on the reactor which had been flooded with gamma.

1986年，普里皮亚季郊区的一个核电站发生重大事故，其中一个反应堆起火爆炸，放射性物质扩散到周围。那是乌克兰最严重的一场灾难。5年后，在1991年，在充满伽马射线的反应堆发现了黑色真菌。

The fungi not only survive the radiation, but it also grew towards it as if it was attracted. Large amounts of 'melanin' allow the fungi to absorb normally harmful rays which it then converts into chemical energy.  

这种真菌不仅从辐射中幸存了下来，还向着辐射的方向生长，好像被某种力量吸引着。大量的黑色素使这种真菌能吸收有害射线，将其转化成化学能量。

These fungi use the deadly rays to produce energy via radiosynthesis.

这些真菌利用这些致命射线通过辐射合成产生能量。