"Bacteria... From space... Impossible!" For some reason, this immediately reminded me of a recent science fiction film - "Alive". By the way, we noticed that in it the commander space station was a Russian cosmonaut. But now is not about that.
Russian cosmonauts have discovered bacteria living on the outer surface of the International Space Station (ISS).
Samples from the surface of the hull were taken with cotton swabs during the expedition as part of Russian program space research. Samples were collected from those parts of the plant where waste fuel was released during engine operation.
After the samples were brought back to Earth, scientists returned home to discover something very curious. “It turned out that there are bacteria on these swabs that were not present during the launch of the ISS module,” Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov told a TASS correspondent on Monday.
“In other words, they came from outer space and settled on the outer surface of the station body. They are currently being studied. So far, it seems to us that these bacteria do not pose any danger,” he added.
The origin of the discovered microorganisms has not yet received final confirmation, but experts believe it is unlikely that these are actually some kind of extraterrestrial bacteria. The TASS agency also notes that these bacteria were most likely brought to the ISS on the surface of a computer tablet belonging to the crew members, or some other equipment contaminated with terrestrial microorganisms.
However, while not entirely extraterrestrial life, there is no denying that the find is highly interesting. The astronauts also showed that bacteria of terrestrial origin managed to survive on the outer side of the space station, despite being in the vacuum of space for several years, "cruising" at an altitude of 435 kilometers in low Earth orbit.
It should also be recalled that the temperature on the outer surface of the space station is subject to extreme fluctuations. It can vary from 121°C on the sunny side to -157°C on the shady side of the station. So, whatever the origin of these bacteria, they had to make a hell of a journey.
Scientists have long been interested in everything related to bacteria and space. Just a month ago, an international team of researchers published the results of a study in which scientists sent cultures of Escherichia coli, a bacteria found in food poisoning feces, to the International Space Station. Much to their surprise, they found that Escherichia coli bacteria in space conditions are much more resistant to antibiotics than in space. earth's atmosphere. They even managed to find out how and why this strange phenomenon occurs.
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Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, who suddenly attracted public interest in the search for extraterrestrial life, is going to fly into orbit for the third time on Sunday, along with two new cosmonauts: American Scott Tingle and Japanese Norishige Kanai. During the planned expedition to the ISS, which will last four months, the astronauts will conduct 51 experiments. 10 of them will be devoted to space biology and biotechnology, including the problem of planetary quarantine and environmental security.
It is worth recalling that the Shkaplerovs recently stated in a sensational interview that there are bacteria on the ISS that arrived from somewhere in outer space and settled on the outer side of the skin. He noted that while they are being studied, they apparently do not pose any danger whatsoever. The mysterious hint in the words that they are from somewhere in outer space sounded quite intriguing to many. Were there actually microorganisms? extraterrestrial origin?
Mysterious bacteria
The astronaut's message was also noticed abroad. Picturesdotnews.com writes in one lengthy article that if the micro-organisms are hiding in shelters on the station building, as Anton stated, they must have been hitchhiking 250 miles from the earth's surface, and if alien microbes are found by scientists, how Will people take this news? A discussion began on this issue, various figures began to express their opinions regarding this. One of the skeptics said that although there is no doubt that there are many more planets with microbial life in the Galaxy than with intelligent life, this does not mean that we will find bacteria outside the Earth before we receive a radio signal.
So what is actually found on the station skin? He was sent to the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences for explanations of this find. The first question was raised about the possibility that the bacteria that settled outside the station were aliens from distant expanses. It was noted that, in fact, they must withstand conditions unthinkable for a living organism, for example, deep vacuum, deadly radiation, temperature fluctuations from +100 to -100 Celsius, etc.
Leading researcher, candidate of biological sciences Elena Desheva said that she does not know about aliens whether they exist or not on the station casing, but those organisms taken from the outside of the station and delivered for research work are very similar to terrestrial ones. For example, spores of bacteria belonging to the genus Bacillus, as well as the fungus Aureobasidium, were found on the space station. With the help of highly sensitive molecular methods, DNA fragments of the genomes of various microorganisms have been identified.
This experiment, called "Test", has been going on since 2010. Over the past 7 years, Russian cosmonauts have managed to take 19 samples of sedimentary material directly from the surface of the station during spacewalks. As a result, very interesting data were obtained. At the same time, it is impossible not to take into account that microorganisms, although they are viable after space flight, are not capable of reproduction on the surface of the station due to the lack of water there. Cheap, it was emphasized that this experiment is not yet going to be completed, and it will be extended until 2020.
But for what reason are there no bacteria on the surface of the station that are not similar to those on Earth? Surely, because no one searches for them and does not even have an idea how to search. The samples taken are studied only to find microorganisms known on our planet. For example, the results of a special analysis are compared with 20 million or more DNA, which are stored in the NCBI database. Just in this way, for example, they determined the DNA of bacteria in samples that were delivered from outer space. We add that these bacteria used to live on our planet, namely in sediments at the bottom, in silt, various reservoirs and soil.
Bacterial spores, DNA, microparticles and all kinds of DNA fragments that were carried away by ascending electric currents, according to experts, can rise from the surface of the planet to the upper ionospheric layers. Experiments on a cosmic scale helped discover a lot. It was noted that the upper limit of the presence of microorganisms capable of living was moved to a height of 400 km.
But microparticles get to the station surface not only from our planet. The station often intersects with meteoroid streams. Presumably, in micrometeorites and dust from comets there may be some biogenic substance that originated outside the Earth. It is just possible to contain the decomposed remains of living organisms, waste products. This assumption is supported by many people. One of the weighty arguments is that the fact that dust hit the station surface indicates the discovery on the skin in significant concentrations of a certain holmium, which was available on Earth in very small quantities. Perhaps bacteria of extraterrestrial origin are also present on the outer shell of the station? It is worth doing a thorough search here, and then everything will become clear.
Developments and new plans for the study of the emergence of microorganisms
Scientists of the Space Research Institute are trying to advance in this direction. They proposed an interesting experiment called "LIMB". It has been described as if it were some kind of thrilling fantasy. It is said about it that the discovery of life of extraterrestrial origin, which will already be in the next ten years, according to many prominent world-famous scientists, will become major event 3rd millennium. The stay of microbes on other planets or satellites of planets belonging to the solar system is now better attributed to an event more real than previously thought.
Such an interesting forecast is associated, as the authors of the description say, with the possibility of survival on Mars of certain microorganisms that are resistant to radiation. They are probably still there today. In the scientific description of this experiment, you can find the words that the results research work made it possible to understand that several billion years ago on Mars there were just all the necessary conditions for the origin and evolutionary development of microorganism beings. And like microorganisms from the Earth, Martian ones could also stay at significant depths in the planetary crust. In addition, even with the loss of water and atmosphere on the planet, these microbes were most likely able to survive and persist in the deep layers of rocks.
But before sending the appropriate instruments to Mars, scientists are making plans to organize an experiment on the ISS in the near future. One of the tasks is the study of such creatures in dust particles that are on the flight path of the station.
And during the planned expedition, the astronauts will continue to conduct experiments on the survival of such organisms in the space environment. A few months ago, microorganisms were brought to the outside of the station, which are not protected in any way, even from dust. Scientists set the task to find out if they are capable of surviving in such conditions. Already next year, on February 2, they will need to pick up the 1st batch of bacteria. And later, another crew will remove the rest from the station surface.
Thus, now the picture with microorganisms that have been and are still on the ISS skin is becoming clearer and clearer. Scientists are trying to succeed in this direction. This will help answer questions about the existence of life outside the Earth, which is now important for humanity. Let's hope that scientists will achieve success.
You can often hear: I understand why scientists sent highly organized living creatures - dogs - into space. This is necessary to ensure complete security. space flight person. But why was it necessary to send microorganisms and even submicroscopic creatures on satellite ships? This is the question I want to briefly answer in this article.
The use of unicellular organisms in space experiments was caused by a number of reasons, and above all, of course, by the fact that radiations capable of causing serious cellular damage in animals could be detected in interplanetary space. It is possible that in dogs and rabbits that have been in space, deviations may not have been revealed, since the whole organism is able to compensate for hidden cellular damage. At the same time, another problem, no less important in practical and theoretical respects, arises - the influence of cosmic radiation on heredity.
Now it is easy to explain why it was decided to use microorganisms. They have a wide range of sensitivity to ionizing radiation, ranging from one to several thousand roentgens. This makes it possible to study the biological effect of the most varied doses of cosmic radiation that an astronaut might encounter during flights in a given orbit. In experiments on satellite ships, as biological objects that react only to very large doses of ionizing radiation, were used different kinds: Escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus, butyric fermentation bacillus and others.
The hereditary properties of bacteria, in particular E. coli K-12, were studied in detail even in the laboratory using the finest methods of microbiology. They make it possible to identify bacterial cells with pathologically altered heredity under the influence of large doses of ionizing radiation (of the order of several thousand roentgens and more). Even if in the orbital zones of the movement of spacecraft there is no such powerful radiation exposure However, biologists must still take into account the possibility of the influence of the energy and penetrating power of individual components of cosmic radiation - protons, alpha particles, as well as nuclei of heavier elements that can kill a cell or cause serious cellular damage.
The phenomena of mutation in bacteria (that is, a pathological change in heredity) are associated with the loss of the cell's ability to independently synthesize amino acids or vitamins necessary for the growth and reproduction of the microorganism. If a large number of such bacterial cells were discovered, it would be easy to determine (and prevent) the danger that awaits an astronaut in flight.
To study possible changes in the structure of a bacterial cell under the influence of outer space factors, we used latest methods, in particular, the technique of ultrathin sections of bacteria and their electronoscopy. There were also highly sensitive bacteria on the satellites - the so-called lysogenic ones, capable of responding to small doses of ionizing radiation (up to 1 x-ray) by forming and secreting bacteriophages. Under the influence of even small doses of X-ray or ultraviolet radiation, lysogenic bacteria acquire the ability to increase the production of bacteriophages. With the help of special methods, it is then possible to accurately determine the number of affected bacteria that form these phages.
This is how the hereditary reaction (increased lysogenicity) of bacteria is established in response to the action of external factors. That is why this model was used as a biological indicator, which can be used to judge the harmfulness and genetic consequences of radiation in small doses during the stay of a living being in various zones of outer space.
How long can cells survive in space flights? To answer this question, special small-sized automatic devices - bioelements - were developed and constructed. They were installed on spaceships and automatically recorded the main functions of the vital activity of bacteria and, if necessary, transmitted radio signals to Earth about the state of these smallest living beings. In automatic bioelements, microbes can stay in space for practically any period of rocket flight - months, years, tens or more years. After the expiration of the specified period, the instruments can be turned on, and information will immediately be transmitted to Earth that can accurately characterize the biological activity of microorganisms. Living creatures of microscopic size do not require a large supply of food and therefore are a very convenient model for space biology.
Of great interest is the comparison of microbiological data with experiments on satellites on the use of a culture of human cancer cells. In terms of sensitivity, these occupy an intermediate position between lysogenic and non-lysogenic cells of Escherichia coli. Thus, we have a range of biological indicators for various levels of ionizing radiation. The culture of cancer cells attracted the attention of researchers due to its ability to grow well on synthetic nutrient media in the form of individual colonies, which facilitates monitoring of cell development and the nature of cell damage. Finally, this method makes it possible to accurately take into account the number of preserved damaged and dead cells in a tissue culture exposed to acceleration, vibration, and weightlessness.
So microbes, submicroscopic organisms - bacteriophages and isolated cells of the human body helped to solve an important problem biological research routes of the world's first human space flight. It is quite natural that the application of space biology methods will continue to contribute to the development of effective protective measures that ensure the safety of longer cosmonaut flights.
P.S. What else do British scientists think about: that, whatever one may say, a trip to space, even with microorganisms for company, is an incredibly cool thing. Also, on such a trip, it would be useful to take photo and video equipment, a voice recorder, in order to immediately record your impressions on it (by the way, a good zoom h4 voice recorder can be bought at Portativ.ua/). But alas, such a phenomenon as space tourism is just in its infancy and it is necessary to pay a tidy sum to send yourself into orbit, but we believe that with the further development of science and technological progress, such trips will become available to everyone.
For decades, scientists have been trying to understand why some bacteria thrive in space. A new study, published in the journal NPJ Microgravity, shows that at least one bacterium develops more than a dozen mutations in space conditions, favorable ones that contribute to an improved reproduction cycle. Moreover, these changes do not disappear even when the bacteria return to normal conditions, which is not good news for astronauts, who during long flights may encounter new and extremely dangerous forms of mutated terrestrial microorganisms as a result.
Data from previous space flights shows that E. coli and salmonella become much stronger and grow faster in zero gravity. On the ISS, they feel so great that they form whole slimy films, the so-called biocoating, on the internal surfaces of the station. Space shuttle experiments have shown that these bacterial cells become thicker and produce more biomass than their counterparts on Earth. Moreover, bacteria grow in space, acquiring a special structure that is simply not observed on the planet.
Why this happens is not yet clear, and so scientists from the University of Houston decided to test the effect of weightlessness on bacteria over a long period of time. They took a colony of E. coli, put them in a special machine that simulated weightlessness, and allowed them to reproduce for a long period. In total, the colony went through more than 1000 generations, which is much longer than in any study conducted before.
These "adapted" cells were then introduced into a colony of normal E. coli (the control strain), and the space dwellers were doing just fine, producing three times as many offspring as relatives not exposed to weightlessness. The effect of the mutations persisted over time and appears to have been permanent. In another experiment, similar bacteria, exposed to weightlessness, multiplied for 30 generations and, once in an ordinary colony, exceeded the reproduction rates of their earthly rivals by 70%.
After genetic analysis, it turned out that at least 16 different mutations were found in the adapted bacteria. It is not known whether these mutations are individually important or if they work collectively to give the bacterium an advantage. One thing is clear: space mutations are not random, they effectively increase reproductive rates and do not disappear over time.
This discovery presents a problem on two levels. Firstly, space-modified bacteria can return to Earth, break out of quarantine conditions and bring new traits to other bacteria. Secondly, such advanced microorganisms can affect the health of astronauts during long missions, such as during a flight to Mars. Fortunately, even in a mutated state, bacteria are killed by antibiotics, so we have the means to combat them. True, it is not known to what extent microbes can change, staying in space for decades.
Russian scientists have discovered the DNA of microorganisms on the outside of the ISS. It was previously believed that cosmic radiation and temperature changes kill all life. The experiment of Russian microbiologists disproved this fact. Russian scientists compared space samples with earth samples: it turned out that in orbit are the so-called extreme bacteria that live on Earth in hot springs and volcanic lava. Now the task is to find out how the microbes ended up on the ISS. Where are they from - from Earth or from space?
There is life in outer space! This was confirmed by research by Russian scientists. In 2010, the Expedition 25 crew went into outer space to take dust samples from the surface and check for metal wear. The procedure is normal. These are the rules of operation. But the results became a sensation. IN space dust were microorganisms.
“They didn’t expect, they thought cosmic radiation could kill all life. Why do we think that we have hope that these are still living organisms, because DNA itself cannot be preserved for a long time, so since we have identified DNA, then there are bacteria also exists," says Tatyana Grebennikova, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics at the D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology.
Experiment "Test", or rather research, was carried out five times. The device was specially developed, inside - sterile rods. Everything is sealed. The ingress of terrestrial microbes is excluded.
"What the crew is doing is going out into open space, twisting the rod on the thread, taking a smear, inserting the rod back into the cavity, wrapping it hermetically, and returning to Earth in this form," says Oleg Tsygankov, Chief Researcher at RSC Energia. .
Astronauts took dust samples from different parts of the station. And where it should be comfortable for bacteria, under the heat-insulating sheathing, and on an open surface, where the sun's rays, huge temperature differences. It is a paradox, but it was in this very aggressive environment that signs of life were found.
“This experiment has a great future. And we, however, are on the verge of new discoveries, go into space, take smears from the surface, the hatch, from the surface of the station facing the Sun, the Earth, and get amazing results,” the first deputy believes. general designer RSC Energia, Flight Director of the ISS Russian Segment Vladimir Solovyov.
Experiments with bacteria in near space, scientists have carried out more than once. Microbes lived on the surface of the station - both in closed and open containers. But these were terrestrial microbes specially delivered into orbit.
There was no thought to look for life in places of pollution, where dust has accumulated over the 15 years of the ISS operation, taking ordinary samples. It was believed that the sun and cosmic radiation are deadly for any terrestrial organisms.
"In places of pollution, near windows, why are we talking in places of pollution, near valves we saw pollution, ... and when we delivered the probes, we saw that it was black, and this led us to the idea that in order for microorganisms to survive, they we need pollution that can cover them to some extent from UV, and most importantly, provide adhesion to the surface, this is how our experiment went,” says Elena Shubralova, chief researcher at TsNIIMash.
"Test" of Russian scientists showed that there are bacteria in cosmic dust. True, a little. After molecular diagnostics and comparative analysis found terrestrial analogues.
“In the first experiment, we found extreme bacteria, then we determined that mycobacteria DNA exists there. We found uncultivated bacteria that are found in the soil of Madagascar,” said the head of the laboratory for molecular diagnostics of the Institute of Virology. D.I. Ivanovsky Tatyana Grebennikova.
This video was filmed by biologists. When space samples were brought, there was a real commotion at the institute. Shooting inside is prohibited, sterility of the highest degree, so as not to bring the earthly.
What state the bacteria are in in space, dormant or active, and how they ended up there, remains to be seen. One of the main versions is that they flew from the Earth. on microparticles.
"There is a so-called stratospheric electrical circuit, not only air can transfer, but some electric charges can transfer these elements, if they are so resistant to adverse conditions, then they can be transferred by other means, on some particles. This is how life is supposed to appear on Earth, microorganisms can travel on some material particles,” suggested Oleg Tsygankov, Chief Researcher at RSC Energia.
Another version of the origin of microbes on the ISS. Microbes are from outer space. The carriers of life throughout the universe may well be comets, which contain ice.
"From observation and research solar system we know that quite a lot organic matter brought by asteroids and comets. We know where asteroids and comets were formed…,” said Valery Shematovich, head of the Solar System Research Department at the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Recently, astrophysicists have discovered another indirect confirmation of the cosmic bioworld. At a distance of 455 light years from Earth in a protoplanetary cloud found complex organic compounds. They formed not in the region of a hot young star, but on the periphery, where temperatures are low. Who knows, maybe this new planetary system will become a new habitable world.
"We saw one very complex molecule - methyl cyanide. This molecule has a CH bond, which is important for the formation of nucleotides and further acids that determine the form of life that we have," explains Valery Shematovich, head of the Solar System Research Department at the Institute of Astronomy.
Until now, it was believed that the bioenvelope of our planet is limited to a height of 90 kilometers. After the experiment "Test", most likely, bio-boundaries will have to be expanded to 400 kilometers - the orbit of the International Space Station.
Or maybe there are no boundaries at all, and the Universe is one, and life wanders from one system to another!
