US EditionNew Strain of Bacteria Found on China’s Tiangong Space Station
- Chinese researchers discovered a new bacterial strain named Niallia tiangongensis aboard the Tiangong space station in 2023.
- The discovery emerged from an ongoing program that continuously monitors microbial changes throughout the extended operation of the China Space Station’s living quarters.
- Researchers used surface swabs collected by the Shenzhou-15 crew, analyzed with genome sequencing, imaging, and metabolic profiling to identify the Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped strain.
- The strain exhibits distinct structural and functional variations in the BshB1 and SplA proteins, which likely contribute to improved biofilm development, resilience against oxidative stress, and repair of radiation-induced damage, thereby supporting its ability to survive in the space environment.
- This finding suggests potential applications for targeted microbial control in aerospace, agriculture, medicine, and sustainable waste conversion both in orbit and on Earth.
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87 Articles
Scientists discover new bacterium on Chinese space station
The NewsA never-before-seen bacterium was found on China’s Tiangong space station. Samples were taken from the station’s cockpit and returned to Earth, and researchers detected a rod-shaped bacterium which they named . It is unclear whether the newly discovered species evolved on the space station — there are likely billions of uncatalogued bacterial species on Earth. But the new bacterium is well adapted to life in space, WIRED reported: It is …
Is the new bacteria aboard China’s Tiangong space station a future threat?
Scientists have identified a new strain of bacteria, Niallia tiangongensis, aboard China’s Tiangong space station, which is showing signs of evolution in space. This bacteria was collected during the Shenzhou 15 crewed mission in 2023, and researchers were quick to note its unique ability to adapt to the harsh conditions of space. Unlike typical Earth-bound microbes, Niallia tiangongensis thrives in the extreme environment of low Earth orbit. It…
China Space Station Discovers a New Species of Unknown Bacteria on Earth · Global Voices
Although at first sight it does not seem so, humans are not the dominant creatures of the planet. That 'title' belongs to other beings much smaller, invisible to us, but that surpass us in number, in endurance, in strength and also, to be fair, in the ability to change the world, which they have already done on different occasions. The Earth, and that is indisputable, belongs to bacteria.A human being is something extremely delicate, an organism…
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