Slashdot Mirror
How Microbes Survive Clean Rooms and Contaminate Spacecraft (phys.org)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Rakesh Mogul, a Cal Poly Pomona professor of biological chemistry, was the lead author of an article in the journal Astrobiology that offers the first biochemical evidence explaining the reason the contamination persists. To figure out how the spacecraft microbiome survives in the cleanroom facilities, the research team analyzed several Acinetobacter strains that were originally isolated from the Mars Odyssey and Phoenix spacecraft facilities. They found that under very nutrient-restricted conditions, most of the tested strains grew on and biodegraded the cleaning agents used during spacecraft assembly. The work showed that cultures grew on ethyl alcohol as a sole carbon source while displaying reasonable tolerances towards oxidative stress. This is important since oxidative stress is associated with desiccating and high radiation environments similar to Mars. The tested strains were also able to biodegrade isopropyl alcohol and Kleenol 30, two other cleaning agents commonly used, with these products potentially serving as energy sources for the microbiome.
alcoholic hand sanitizer is breakfast for them.
Consuela was out of lemon Pledge, so me no work.
Al-Qaeda in Outer Space could terrorize us with this info.. shhhhh, be very quiet....
AE911Truth org
Some creatures are eternally hostage to their own inherent DNA. Microsoft's "embrace" of open source is the death hug of a sociopathic giant. Hopefully the community is aware enough to pivot out of Microsoft's path.
For those of you wondering why this 'research' is so mundane, it's because Cal Poly is basically a state-funded tech school. Its where they send all the C students with vaginas and dark skin from poor communities so they can hold them up as a shining example of what's possible if you throw enough gentrification money at it.
It's basically what a high school would be like if it had billions of $ in funding.
This experiment was most likely just to demonstrate to students the concepts of oxidative stress and extremophiles and nothing more. The fact that it has to do with microbes "in space" is just a gimmick to get the students interested. The fact that it's published in a journal, well, they have to justify the money spent some how.
I've worked in cleanrooms, and you're usually worried about dust and dirt particles being below whatever threshold is set.
I've never worked in an environment where surfaces should be sterilized, but I would imagine you don't want bacteria but they aren't so worried about dust and dirt particles so long as they are sterile. (i.e an operating room)
Nice one humans!
There are tons of things that 70% ethanol will not kill. There is more than one way to kill microbes: chlorhexidine gluconate, quaternary ammonium compounds, advanced hydrogen peroxide compounds, peracetic acids, silver compounds, UV, phenolics, alcohols, chlorine and iodine compounds. Now which ones of those won't mess up your spacecraft... that is a different issue.
According to one science fiction story, we all evolved from bacteria from a space dog dump let out by a stopping saucer.
So don't be too worried about it, indeed don't pooh pooh the idea.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Degrading waste plastics may be just a genemod away,