Radio-free bacteria.

In 1956 a food technologist at Oregon State University made a startling discovery: cans of meat that had supposedly been sterilized with gamma radiation contained a thriving organism, subsequently named Deinococcus radiodurans. D. radiodurans has been shown to survive and continue to function after being exposed to radiation doses up to 10 times those that would kill most bacteria. In addition, it is able to survive nutrient-poor environments, including weathered granite in a dry Antarctic valley, and periods of extended desiccation. The organism has been tapped as a strong candidate for bioremediation of sites contaminated with radiation and toxic chemicals.