Is it good to use deinococcus radiodurans as shielding armor against radiation?

Question

Is it good to use deinococcus radiodurans as shielding armor against radiation?

Answer 1

Genetic engineering aside, I don't see how this bacteria provides better shielding than any other biomass material formed from water and protoplasmic elements.

The material that provides the best shielding to radiation is *dense*, that is, there are a lot of protons and neutrons that get in the way of (block) the gamma rays, alpha particles, or beta particles.  This is why lead is a good radiation shield because of its high density.  Shielding is about the physical properties of a material, not its biological properties.

Wikipedia says Deinococcus radiodurans is resistant to genetic damage by radiation.  "D. radiodurans is known as a polyextremophile. It has also been listed as the world's toughest bacterium in "The Guinness Book Of World Records" because of its extraordinary resistance to several extreme conditions."  But this genetic toughness doesn't translate into making it a better shielding material than a dense metal.

Answer 2

Quite possible.

Using genetic engineering Deinococcus has been used for bioremediation to consume and digest solvents and heavy metals, even in a highly radioactive site. The bacterial mercuric reductase gene has been cloned from Escherichia coli into Deinococcus to detoxify the ionic mercury frequently found in radioactive waste generated from nuclear weapons manufacture. Those researchers developed a strain of Deinococcus that could detoxify both mercury and toluene in mixed radioactive wastes.

So you see, it's definitely not in the realm of impossibility. There are several biochemical firms that are already researching this application.