Space might help us fight superbugs, says new study
Scientists found that microgravity—like on the International Space Station—changes how viruses called bacteriophages evolve.
These phages usually infect and kill bacteria. In space, they picked up special mutations that actually made them better at attacking E. coli strains that are resistant to infection by standard phages.
How does microgravity shake things up?
On Earth, these phages work fast—infecting E. coli in just a few hours.
But in space, things slow down because fluids don't mix the same way without gravity.
After 23 days floating around the ISS, though, the phages started to infect bacteria differently than they do back home.
Why does this matter for fighting resistant bacteria?
Phages grown in microgravity developed mutations that boosted their ability to latch onto and wipe out tough bacterial strains—even those regular phages struggle with on Earth.
Some of these space-evolved phage variants were able to infect and kill E. coli strains that resisted infection by regular phages.
What's next?
This research hints that space could be a surprising new testing ground for creating better treatments against bacteria that are difficult to treat with existing phages—a big deal as more infections become harder to treat here on Earth.