Warning, those of you with weak hearts, do not view this article. There are depressing pictures of deformed butterflies within.

http://www.rt.com/news/fukushima-radiation-butterflies-mutate-672/

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is still an out-of-control disaster, is believed to be the source of radiation that is causing mutations in local butterfly populations. The fear is that similar mutations will be seen in future generations of people living in the area.

An interesting read, if you can stomach the distressing images of suffering butterflies.

You're kidding, right? That article is no where near as bad as you made it out to be. They're butterflies. No one here knows much about them to be "disturbed" by these mutations. If it weren't for the red arrows I never would have noticed the "mutations." The wing in the lower left corner was obvious but the mutation in the lower right seems non existent.

That warning(as I said in the shoutbox) is mainly for the 2 or 3 bronies here who I know would be negatively effected by the image of a horribly mutilated butterfly <insert crying fluttershy gif here>.

Also yeah, I was sort of poking fun at disclaimers.

http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/Ironfungus/RarityFrown.gif

I'm pretty sure the 2-3 bronies here can look at pictures of slightly-mutated butterflies without losing their lunch over the keyboard. We're not all 8 year olds who cry when we accidentally squish ants.

Anyways, interesting article; while those mutations aren't especially easy to spot, the concern about radiation to the human population is a very justified one after seeing these images. "Small" mutations like these with humans could be life-threatening, not to mention increased cancer rates among the already-born population.

I was actually more horrifed by that Rarity picture than the m utated butterflies one.

Yeah I saw that in the news this morning. Creepy.

I guess I must like butterflies more than the rest of you. I'm not sure how I should feel about that...

1. Keep in mind that the lifespan of butterflies is much shorter than humans, so they breed much more frequently. Therefore, there is a higher chance for mutations around radiation in insects than humans.

2. I read an article in yesterday's paper that showed that radiation levels in humans are barely above normal. EDIT: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/first-study-reports-very-low-internal-radioactivity-after-fukushima-disaster/2012/08/14/aadd1dc2-e628-11e1-8741-940e3f6dbf48_story.html

Both good points. I'd like to point out however that these mutations occurred in less than 3 generations, and I believe that's what has the scientists concerned. Not that mutations are occurring, but that they'd occurring so soon.

Living in Denver exposes people to more radiation per year than Fukishima.

Are you familiar with the cancer rates of Denver citizens vs. citizens of other cities? My aunt who lives there just got breast cancer and has no family history for it. It might be an exceedingly small number of people, but do they not still matter?

My point is that people who live in Denver don't give a a. However, people who get less radiation yearly and who get 1/3 more one year suddenly become paranoid about it, there is a problem.

So because Denver citizens are used to getting cancer and dying young other cleaner cities shouldn't worry themselves with it?