Join Us 
Sunita Williams, a NASA astronaut, as well as her coworkers are dealing in an unexpected issue aboard the Space Station( ISS).The superbug Enterobacterbugandensis, a bacteria that is multidrug-resistant, recently came to light on the ISS, raising new concerns about the health of the passengers and crew. bugandensis is an instance of bacteria which impacts the airways and can be difficult to treat due to drug resistance. Sunita He as well as an astronaut Barry the Eugene “Butch” Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station on June 6, 2024, aboard a Boeing the Starliner spacecraft. Now, the evolved bacteria add to their concerns.
Research led by Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, has shown that E. bugandensis strains on the ISS have become genetically and functionally different from those on Earth. Under space conditions, these bacteria have mutated and thrived. They not only survive in the ISS’s closed environment but may also help other microorganisms survive.Dr. Venkateswaran, a marine microbiology expert and graduate of Annamalai University in Chennai, India, has been studying these bacteria. Further research on E. bugandensis was conducted by JPL and the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-Madras) in Chennai.
The team included Professor Karthik Raman from the Department of Data Science and AI at the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI (WSAI), research scholars Pratyay Sengupta and Shobhan Karthick MS, and Nitin Kumar Singh from JPL. Their findings were published in the journal Microbiome. Dr. Venkateswaran noted that the research reveals how benign microorganisms can adapt and support the survival of opportunistic pathogens like E. bugandensis in space. This comprehension is critical for creating novel approaches to fight infectious agents while safeguarding an astronaut wellness. Professor Karthik Raman remarked, “Microbes continue to surprise us by thriving in the toughest conditions.” This research not only helps ensure astronaut health but also offers insights into microbial behavior and evolution in extreme environments, benefiting broader scientific and medical fields.
[tta_listen_btn]
