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The discoveries made in space do not always reach Earth immediately. In fact, the space stations that orbit our planet do so while inside they carry out different experiments that try to find answers to life in space, without atmosphere and in certain conditions that cannot be found on our planet.
Now, Chinese scientists aboard the Chinese space station Tiangong have reported that in one of their experiments they have found a new bacterial strain, a strain they have named Niallia tiangongensis, which is a new variant of a known terrestrial bacterium. The bacterium was discovered in a cabin that was located on the space station itself.
Understanding the characteristics of microbes
This discovery was made by the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group and the Beijing Institute of Space Systems Engineering, and was published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. The study being carried out on the Chinese space station was to understand the characteristics of certain microbes on long-duration space missions, something that is essential to be able to protect the health of astronauts and, in turn, maintain the reliability of spacecraft systems.
With the discovery of this new strain, it has been found to have unique mechanisms to adapt to the extreme space environment, and has been shown to have the ability to combat oxidative stress (an imbalance that damages cells and tissues) and is also able to repair radiation-induced damage.
Now, the work of these researchers is to understand how the strain can survive in space, and thus enable scientists to develop very specific strategies to control microbes beyond the atmosphere. Once the discovery was revealed, the China Manned Space Agency indicated that this research will generate an exceptional harvest of findings on microbial activity, genetics and metabolism, knowledge that could be translated into innovative uses on our planet.