Space travel alters viruses' evolution , study on ISS reveals
Technology
A new ISS study found that microgravity changes how viruses and bacteria evolve.
Scientists watched T7 bacteriophages and E. coli for 23 days in space, discovering that the unique environment led to surprising genetic changes.
Space tweaks how infections work—and could help fight superbugs
In microgravity, viruses took longer to infect bacteria at first but eventually adapted with new mutations that made them better at latching onto their targets—including uropathogenic E. coli that were resistant to wild-type T7.
These space-evolved viruses even managed to infect strains regular phages couldn't touch, hinting at future ways to tackle antibiotic-resistant infections here on Earth.