India, Oct. 18 -- Following the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986, many people had to evacuate their homes, and some could not take their pets with them. Decades later, free-roaming dogs continue to live around the nuclear power plant and neighboring settlements, in a region that has changed drastically since the disaster. The relationships among these dogs, along with their genetic diversity, offer researchers an opportunity to study how animal populations develop in an environment shaped by human displacement and nuclear contamination.

In March 2023, a study published in Science Advances analyzed the DNA of 302 dogs at three locations in the region. The researchers found genetic differences between dogs livin...