Sometimes blogging on microBEnet feels a bit like a MadLib. There are certain recurring themes that fit the model well. For example: __________ (microbe) was recently found to do _______________ (cool thing)… IN SPAAAAACE! This has implications for future manned spaceflight missions. So here we go for today: The fungal pathogen Candida albicans was recently …
It’s becoming increasingly well-established that microbes behave differently in microgravity than on Earth… that’s one of the justifications for our own Project MERCCURI. Some previous work has focused on the ability of microbes to survive higher-than-normal levels of antibiotics when grown in space, though the mechanism for this is not at all understood. This article …
The study of how aerosols disperse and settle is an important part of the microbiology of the built environment and there are several groups working on the topic. However, this story was the first I’ve heard about modeling this process in zero gravity. The settling of aerosols in particular is quite different in spacecraft than …
A nice little video featuring Jenna and Jonathan talking about Project MERCCURI:
The Today Show did a follow up piece after we identified a couple of bacteria collected on their set, one of which will go up to the International Space Station in February (see the first piece here). I tried to craft the message here that microbes are everywhere and most of them are harmless or …
The Today Show on NBC collected some built environment samples to send to space with Project MERCCURI this morning. Here’s the video of them swabbing the set and the primary camera. Very cool… Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Just a brief post here to point people to a blog post on the Science Cheerleader website which describes the efforts of our Project MERCCURI team to team up with Pop Warner to collect samples for the ISS, for the Earth Microbiome Project, and to expand the educational reach of this citizen science effort. Read …
ESPN reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers management has arranged to have one of their facilities “treated” due to presence of MRSA: Tampa Bay Buccaneers treat facility to prevent MRSA outbreak – ESPN. Seems like this would be a good case study for a team of microbial ecologists with experience in sporting facilities. Calling Project MERCCURI. …
Here’s a story that combines two of my favorite topics these days, microbes and space. In this case students from Japan are building a special satellite to house and photograph slime mold growth (Dictyostelium discoideum). I’m not sure exactly what they’ll learn from this, but it sounds cool! Pictures and data will be publicly available …
Quick post here (crossposted from my Tree of Life blog). Our Project MERCCURI got some press coverage relating to an event July 20th with the Arizona Cardinals: Gilbert, Tempe participate in national microbe-swabbing project – East Valley Tribune: Gilbert. From the article: “The event – held at the Arizona Cardinals’ training facility on July 20 – …