How An Andromeda Strain Might be Strained

An anonymous reader writes "For the world-record holder as the longest surviving bacteria in space [6 years, Bacillus subtillis], it turns out that among the multitude of dangers [cold, vacuum, UV, lack of nutrients, etc.] the greatest stress of all is intense ultraviolet radiation. In the next two years, new space station experiments are slated to test the panspermia hypothesis--also popularized in Robert Zubrin's "Entering Space", but dating back at least 150 years in the scientific literature. Recent balloon experiments, have rekindled alot of the controversy, but NASA Ames scientist, Rocco Mancinelli, concludes: "In my opinion, for a spore, it's quite likely.""

Comments

Why is this a surprise?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's been a long standing standard that one of the most effective antibacterial/antiviral measures one can tak e today is UV irradiation, it's one of the few things most movies even get correct. Hell, even most of the studies done about UV irradiation on humans in space is inconclusive. Or has all the hype in the past (Anti-Anthrax measures in post offices) been just optimistic public placating?

put it in a petrolium base, please.

[twitter]

If bacteria can survive for millions of years in petrolium under ground, I'm sure they can survive for equal time scales in blobs of tar in space. Does this mean that Earth was colinized by life from somewhere else? No, after all that life had to come from someplace and that place might just have been Earth itslelf. It could however, make it possible for Earth to have been colinized and it does make it possible for Earth to continue to receive new life forms.