Space experiments reveal new way to fight drug-resistant superbugs, scientists say
Huss said the findings could help address antibiotic-resistant infections, including urinary tract infections, which have been increasing in recent years.
“By studying those space-driven adaptations, we identified new biological insights that allowed us to engineer phages with far superior activity against drug-resistant pathogens back on Earth,” Huss told SWNS.
Study limitations
“Experiments on the ISS are constrained by small sample sizes, fixed hardware and scheduling constraints,” Raman noted. “Samples also experience freezing and long storage times, which can complicate interpretation.”
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He added that the research has broader implications.
“Studying microbes in space isn’t just about space biology,” Raman said. “These experiments can uncover new aspects of viral infection and microbial evolution that feed directly back into terrestrial problems, including antimicrobial resistance and phage therapy.”
Space should be treated as a discovery environment rather than a routine testing platform, one researcher said. (iStock)
He added that space should be treated as a discovery environment rather than a routine testing platform. The most effective approach, according to Raman, is to identify useful patterns and mutations in space and then study them carefully in Earth-based systems.
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Scientists also noted that the findings highlight how microbial ecosystems, like those associated with humans, could change during long space missions.
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“Understanding and anticipating those changes will be essential as space travel becomes longer, more routine and more biologically complex,” Raman said.
The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Article source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/space-experiments-reveal-new-way-fight-drug-resistant-superbugs-scientists-say