Microbes found on international space station 'may be evolving'
Scientists at Northwestern University have determined that microbes found on the International Space Station may be evolving.
The new study has found that the microbes are adapting to survive in the harsh environment of space, scientists say.
Rather than mutating into especially dangerous or antibiotic-resistant superbugs they mainly appear to be adpating to deal with the difficulties of floating above Earth.
"There has been a lot of speculation about radiation, microgravity and the lack of ventilation and how that might affect living organisms, including bacteria," lead study author Erica Hartmann, a biological design professor at Northwestern University, said in a statement.
"These are stressful, harsh conditions. Does the environment select for superbugs because they have an advantage? The answer appears to be no." The ISS harbours thousands of different microbes, including a strain which causes MRSA infections down on Earth.
The study poses interesting questions surrounding the issue of space illness which are likely to become relevant if humans try longer missions such as an expedition to Mars.
"People will be in little capsules where they cannot open windows, go outside or circulate the air for long periods of time,' said Hartmann. 'We're genuinely concerned about how this could affect microbes."
"Astronauts are exceedingly healthy people. But as we talk about expanding space flight to tourists who do not necessarily meet astronaut criteria, we don't know what will happen. 'We can't say that if you put someone with an infection into a closed bubble in space that it won't transfer to other people. It's like when someone coughs on an airplane, and everyone gets sick."
