SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The drinking water on the International Space Station has been colonized by two hardy species of bacteria, but a new analysis shows they're no more dangerous than those you are likely to encounter on Earth.
The water dispenser on the ISS was originally delivered in 2009, and because lugging water from Earth is an expensive process, it uses specialized filters to recycle drinking water. It also contains iodine, a bacteria-killer, that's filtered out before drinking. However, immediately after the dispenser was installed, an analysis found it to be contaminated by bacteria from the genus Burkholderia, forcing astronauts aboard the station to turn to a Russian back-up water system.
Two species, Burkholderia cepacia and Burkholderia contaminans, were likely introduced to the dispenser before it rocketed off the planet, but they were able to hold out in the system on the journey to space and survive decontamination procedures. These species can be problematic for human beings with compromised immune systems, such as patients with cystic fibrosis.
The study, published in the open-access journal PLOS One on Wednesday, looked at both of these species, collected from the drinking water system on the ISS between 2010 and 2014, examining the DNA and physical characteristics of the two bugs. They found 24 different strains of the bacteria but showed they were all very similar, likely stemming from two parent strains growing in the system when the dispenser left Earth.
(Score: 2) by Snospar on Friday February 21 2020, @08:38AM (1 child)
Are we certain this isn't a colony of motiles trying to take over the space station for the Starflyer [wikipedia.org]?
Huge thanks to all the Soylent volunteers without whom this community (and this post) would not be possible.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday February 21 2020, @05:08PM
Oh, this is some other series. I was wondering whether you had typo'd "Moties", as in those little engineer critters from "The Mote in God's Eye" that would rebuild your ship from the inside out.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"