Deinococcus radiodurans is an aerobic bacterium, meaning it requires oxygen to survive.  The bacteria (Deinococcae) form colonies of pink and red microbes.  One of Conan's many wacky charcteristics is its ability to stain either Gram positive or Gram negative.  This is thought to be bevause Conan has several thick and thin layers in its cell wall, composed of all sorts of different chemicals and materials.  A bacterial freak show, indeed.  D. radiodurans is an obligatory heterotroph, obtaining its food from external sources.  Conan lacks flagella and reproduces asexually through cell division.

For many years, the dominant theory was that Deinococcus' extraordinary radiation-resistance was made possible by a unique structure of DNA repair genes.  However, researchers such as Michael Daly and Michael Cox and their team at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have recently discovered that the bacterium's repair genes are entirely ordinary.  The crucial differences, it seems, are Conan's immense number of special proteins and the four to ten copies of its own genome it lugs around.  Although enormous amounts of radiation destroy Conan's genome, a common DNA repair protein called RecA, in conjunction with the rest of the protein "dream team", can easily find replacement copies of damaged parts put Conan's genetic structure back together in a matter of hours.