Three bright blue dogs spotted outside the Chernobyl nuclear plant in October 2024 triggered a global wave of speculation that quickly outpaced the facts. Photos of the animals, roaming near the edge ...

Feral dogs living near Chernobyl differ genetically from their ancestors who survived the 1986 nuclear plant disaster—but these variations do not appear to stem from radioactivity-induced mutations.

After the Chernobyl nuclear accident, scientists wondered whether the dogs living in the area are undergoing rapid evolution, ...

For decades, scientists have studied animals living in or near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to see how increased levels of radiation affect their health, growth, and evolution. A study analyzed ...

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine, exploded, spewing massive amounts of radioactive material into the environment. Almost four decades later, the stray dogs ...

Radiation-induced mutations may not be the reason for the genetic differences between dog populations living near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to a new study. The study, published on ...

Dr. Jennifer Betz, medical director for the Dogs of Chernobyl program, said there is a "0% chance that the blue color is related to radiation." In late 2025, social media users began sharing images ...

For nearly 40 years, the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ) has been a laboratory for scientists to study the long-term effects of radiation exposure. One of the ongoing subjects in this unintentional ...

For years, scientists have kept a close eye on the animals around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the hopes of learning from the one-of-a-kind accidental radiation exposure experiment currently ...

An estimated 700 dogs are stuck at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Blue dogs have been spotted at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The dogs' fur is bright blue, per Clean Futures Fund, but the hue likely isn ...