Germs taken to space come back deadlier

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/germs_in_space

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

...The researchers found 167 genes had changed in the salmonella that went to space.

Why?

"That's the 64 million dollar question," Nickerson said. "We do not know with 100 percent certainty what the mechanism is of space flight that's inducing these changes...."

Aw. Does this mean we shouldn't explore into space too often?
Maybe we could clean out the germs on space travelers with radiation, freezing temperature, or a hot spring bath.

Let's hope they never send octosquid into space. ~:mecry:

Couldn't they also come back totally bengin, though?

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Let's hope they never send octosquid into space. ~:mecry:

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Damn, you found out about our plans! Now you must... ahem... please come here it'll be perfectly harmless I promise, and we'll give you a nice dinner and many babes, just step inside this car with toned glass and we'll go :yes:

This immediately made me flash back to my childhood when I read the reprints of the classic Fantastic Four and Incredible Hulk comics. Cosmic rays! Gamma radiation!

Seriously now, I'm assuming the little buggers were probably bombarded with all sorts of radiation in doses that far exceeded what they would ordinarily receive on Earth. Other than the fact that the salmonella received a considerable dosage in space it's nothing new. Everything living in the vicinity of Chernobyl since the accident has had its DNA affected in a similar fashion.

So long as this doesn't turn out to be like Crichton's "Andromeda Strain" I think we'll be ok... :sweatdrop:

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Let's hope they never send octosquid into space. ~:mecry:

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Lol, that was the first thing i thought - we should never send Squids/Octopusses into space, even for the betterment of Man Kind, lest it be our undoing.

OK, creating deadlier germs is cool, but shouldn't they send tigers up next? Deadlier tigers would be really something. Or gorillas. I reckon releasing deadly space gorillas into the forests could be the answer to illegal logging.

These Nasa people just don't think big enough.

The USA doe NOT have a stealthed bio-weapons facility orbiting the planet at this time. No weaponized versions of space-variant biological agents exist. None of these non-existent weapons are available for pin-point targeting on sources of drinking water or to be air-dispersed over a targeted city. Please relax and enjoy your day.

What Spino and Philipus said.

Mutation usually is in a random fashion, although forward mutation tends to be quite a bit more common than back mutation.
Something else to consider is that different kinds of radiation/mutagens tend to induce different kinds of mutations at different rates. Those that induce mainly SNPs tend to be the ones that have the least effect in general (with exception of resistance against antibiotics for instance where a SNP will require a new kind to combat it) yet are less likely to become benign.

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Originally Posted by English assassin

OK, creating deadlier germs is cool, but shouldn't they send tigers up next? Deadlier tigers would be really something. Or gorillas. I reckon releasing deadly space gorillas into the forests could be the answer to illegal logging.

These Nasa people just don't think big enough.

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When I was doing field work in Sumatra my Indonesian field team asked me if I thought I could out run a tiger... particularly after finding a pad print like a dinner plate...
I said 'No I can't and that not only can it outrun me, it is twice the size of a lion and it can climb trees and unlike other cats it likes to swim.'

So they asked why wasn't I afraid, I replied 'Because I can run faster then you guys.' They didn't really appreciate that comment :laugh4:

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Originally Posted by English assassin

OK, creating deadlier germs is cool, but shouldn't they send tigers up next? Deadlier tigers would be really something. Or gorillas. I reckon releasing deadly space gorillas into the forests could be the answer to illegal logging.

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I'm afraid exposing higher lifeforms to intense radiation has thus far, sadly, only resulted in cancers and radiation poisonings.

But we persevere.

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Originally Posted by Papewaio

When I was doing field work in Sumatra my Indonesian field team asked me if I thought I could out run a tiger... particularly after finding a pad print like a dinner plate...
I said 'No I can't and that not only can it outrun me, it is twice the size of a lion and it can climb trees and unlike other cats it likes to swim.'

So they asked why wasn't I afraid, I replied 'Because I can run faster then you guys.' They didn't really appreciate that comment :laugh4:

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:laugh4: :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Watchman

I'm afraid exposing higher lifeforms to intense radiation has thus far, sadly, only resulted in cancers and radiation poisonings.

But we persevere.

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Excuse me very much, but I think you will find that when Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, he became Spiderman. Admittedly, the spider itself then left the story, so we don't know if it died of cancer, but even if it did it seems a small price to pay.

I think you forgot to mention one Dr. Bruce Banner. Alas, attempts to recreate the effects have thus far proven unsuccesful.

https://i122.photobucket.com/albums/...llpaper_ed.jpg

That's all very well and good but what about Pigs in Space?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/...GOdbd0GoQDW7oF

This time, it's the amoeba in warm lakes. These like warm waters and have increased in numbers due to warmer temperatures. Stay away from those lakes.

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PHOENIX - It sounds like science fiction but it's true: A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die....

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That's me put off my breakfast then. :sweatdrop: