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Published online 11 July 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news070709-4

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Chernobyl birds are better off drab and lazy

Species able to invest in cell defence suffer less from radiation.

Birds with bright plumage have suffered most from radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear plant, scientists have discovered. Species that lay large eggs or travel long distances are also more susceptible to radiation.

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