Radioactivity resistance

A private company on contract with the U. S. Army has been breeding rhesus monkeys at a secure location in Texas. Reporters who have asked about activities at the site have gotten the runaround. Rumors based on the observation of large shipments of bananas to the site, however, have obsessed on the idea that the monkeys are being bred for resistance to radioactivity. It’s well-known that bananas contain the unstable isotope potassium-40, which is subject to radioactive decay. The hypothesis is that the army is interested in what it takes to protect its troops from even low exposures. A spokeswoman for the army has said, “There’s no truth in the claim that there’s anything here other than normal abuse of non-human primates.”