Research Stories

by Joe Caspermeyer

The human body changes as it adapts to zero gravity environments. Scientists have known that for some time. But the results of a new study led by researchers from ASU's Biodesign Institute are making headlines. They found that space flight can make infectious microbes stronger and more deadly.

"Space flight alters cellular and physiological responses in astronauts, including the immune response," says Cheryl Nickerson, a professor at ASU's School of Life Sciences. "However, relatively little was known about microbial changes to infectious disease risk in response to space flight."

Nickerson led a project that flew aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis in September 2006. She and ASU's James Wilson performed the first study of its kind to investigate the effect of space flight on the genetic responses and disease-causing potential of Salmonella typhimurium. The microbe is the main bacterial culprit of food poisoning.

After logging in millions of miles in space, the bacterial samples were analyzed back on Earth. The scientists found that the bacteria flown in space were almost three times as likely to cause disease when compared with control bacteria grown on the ground.

Nickerson says the results have important implications for human health. Salmonella and other gut-related bacterial pathogens are a leading cause of food-borne illness and infectious disease, especially in the developing world. The space flight studies may also shed new light on why Salmonella has become increasingly resistant to antibiotic treatment.

The project involved researchers from ASU, NASA, and 12 other research institutions. For more details, go to: http://asunews.asu.edu/20070924_microbes