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hUnknown strain of bacteria found on China's Tiangong Space Station
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By Ben Turner published May 20, 2025
Analysis of swabs from China's Tiangong Space Station has revealed a new
strain of bacteria sporting new adaptations for surviving outer space.
China's Tiangong space station with Earth in the background
China's Tiangong Space Station orbiting Earth. (Image credit: China
Manned Space Agency)
Scientists have discovered a new microbe never-before-seen on Earth
inside China's Tiangong space station.
The new strain of bacteria, named Niallia tiangongensis after the space station, is a variant of a soil-dwelling terrestrial microbe that can
cause sepsis, and was found inside one of the station's cabins.
Now, a new analysis of the strain has revealed that the bacterium isn't
only one of a kind, but has also picked up some key adaptations that
could be helpful in future space missions. The researchers published
their findings March 3 in the journal International Journal of
Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
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The new strain was found in samples collected in 2023 by the crew of the Shenzhou-15 mission, who swabbed the space station's modules with
sterile wipes before freezing them for transport.
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After being sent back to Earth, analysis revealed that the bacteria was
closely related to Niallia circulans, a rod-shaped, spore-propagating
bacteria that typically dwells in soil, sewage and food, and can cause
sepsis in immunocompromised patients.
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However, the new strain had also picked up a few new adaptations to
survive the harsh conditions of space. These include genes that code
responses to oxidative stress, repair the bacteria from radiation
damage, and enable it to form biofilms by breaking down gelatin to
extract carbon and nitrogen.
It's not yet clear if the new strain could cause harm to humans, but the researchers hope that by studying it further they could learn more about
how it, and others, survive; as well as the best ways to prevent human astronauts from any risks associated with space-adapted bugs.
This isn't the first microbe to have made the evolutionary leap to
survive beyond our planet, either. In 2018, NASA scientists discovered
four previously unknown strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria hiding
inside the International Space Station's toilets, each with a suite of
new adaptations to help them survive in outer space.
Ben Turner
Ben Turner
Senior Staff Writer
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers
physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change.
He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle
physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben
enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself
with chess.
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Comment by Daniel.
Da
Daniel
2 days ago
Es curioso que, previamente a la selección natural, o sea antes de ser
lanzado al espacio, ya hubiera un amplio espectro como sustrato sobre el
que esta pudiera actuar, en un lugar tan esterilizado.
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Comment by Ashcanwin.
As
Ashcanwin
3 days ago
Sounds like China has moved the Wuhan Institute of Infectious Diseases
off world. Look out! Here comes CoBac25, coming this December!
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