It's almost like radiation isn't a 100% instant death zone like video games and movies taught you.
People can live in the area surrounding Chernobyl (and many do) they just have a moderately higher chance of getting cancer, but not all of them get sick from the radiation and the ones that do don't necessarily die for years.
Plants and animals survive in Chernobyl because even if a couple get sick from the radiation, the species as a whole can still survive, not all mutations are deadly there are all sorts of weird mutants around Chernobyl like insects who have different patterns on their shells than members of the same species found away from Chernobyl.
It was my understanding from the article that plant cells are more adaptable and less specialized, allowing them more resistance to the effects of the radiation.
(post is archived)