Venkateswaran

08 Apr

ISS infested with bacteria like gym on Earth: NASA

Washington: A team of NASA researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist has found the surface inside the International Space Station (ISS) is littered with microbes just like in a gym or office on Earth -- threatening astronauts' health at the orbiting laboratory. The knowledge of the composition of the microbial and fungal communities on the ISS can be used to develop safety measures for NASA for long-term space travel or living in space, said the researchers in a paper that appeared in the open access journal Microbiome. Specific microbes in indoor spaces on Earth have been shown to impact human health."This is…

12 Jul

NASA plans to fight fungus to keep space travellers safe

Washington: To keep space travellers safe, NASA researchers are taking steps to fight fungus as prolonged stay in closed habitats that may one day be used to explore other planets might be stressful for inhabitants and thus lead to decreased immune response, making people more vulnerable to opportunistic pathogens like fungi. Human presence in closed habitats is associated with changes in the composition of the fungal community -- the mycobiome -- that grows on surfaces inside the habitat, according to a study published in the journal Microbiome. "Our study is the first report on the mycobiome of a simulated habitat meant for…