The International Space Station (|SS) has low microbial diversity, which could lead to astronaut health issues, according to a study published in Cell.

Researchers found that the microbial communities resemble those found in sanitized environments like hospitals rather than natural settings.

Co-senior study author Pieter Dorrestein explains that increasing microbial exposure could improve astronaut health during long-term space travel.

The study suggests incorporating natural elements, like soil, into the ISS to enhance microbial diversity and astronaut well-being.

The study in question:

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00108-4

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago (7 children)

Microbial diversity in relation to space travel seems like such a huge issue to think about but no one talks about it that much it seems. I've been thinking recently that the most dangerous thing about any aliens making first contact by just landing in a field somewhere would be the pathogens we would exchange immediately. It's the pivotal moment in War of the Worlds, for instance, and I can't see any way to avoid it. I did suddenly realise recently, talking about that movie, that although everyone was completely on board with the aliens dying from our bugs, no one questioned why their bugs didn't kill us too?

[–] EarMaster 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

To be honest: I don't think that's much of a problem (unless...). The pathogens on earth are all adapted to attack (if you want to use this verb on a cellular level) us and others on earth. They would most likely not pose a threat to any other lifeforms that have evolved on other planets, unless our way of evolution is the only one which is able to produce life. And that is a big unless, because apart from the panspermia theory (life came to us with a meteor) there is no reason to assume that life has to work the same way it does for us.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Time travel interactions however, those could be a problem

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

The main issue to conquer once we are able to go back, is how to go back without dieing or killing off a significant fraction of our ancestors, creating temporal paradox.

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