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Astrobiology

Research Finds Clues in Hunt to Mitigate the Risk of Bacteria in Space

By Marc Boucher
NASA Watch
June 26, 2013
Filed under

Bacteria Sent Into Space Behave in Mysterious Ways, NASA
Colonies of bacteria grown aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis behaved in ways never before observed on Earth, according to a new NASA-funded study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. Recent findings provide important evidence of spaceflight’s effect on the behavior of bacterial communities, and represent a key step toward understanding and mitigating the risk these bacteria may pose to astronauts during long-term space missions.
The research team, led by Rensselaer faculty member Cynthia Collins, sent the experiment into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis missions STS-132 on May 16, 2010 and STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Samples of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa were cultured for three days in artificial urine. The space-grown communities of bacteria, called biofilms, formed a “column-and-canopy” structure not previously observed on Earth. Additionally, biofilms grown during spaceflight had a greater number of live cells, more biomass, and were thicker than control biofilms grown under normal gravity conditions.

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2 responses to “Research Finds Clues in Hunt to Mitigate the Risk of Bacteria in Space”

  1. hikingmike says:
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    My God, it’s full of … bacteria!

  2. Steven Rappolee says:
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    and now; the test that will most effect the future of humankind in space,the effect of zeroG on brewers,bakers, and cheese yeasts!