Radiation-resistant bacteria with 'unique ability' found on space station could be key for cosmos travel
A new species of bacteria discovered on board a space station could have profound implications for astronauts and long-term travel through the cosmos.
A strain of Niallia with a "unique ability" was found on China's Tiangong Space Station, according to a scientific report.
The discovery was announced in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
Chinese taikonauts found the new bacteria on the surface of hardware on board the station in May 2023, and it was analysed to see how it survived in such tough conditions
"Understanding the characteristics of microbes during long-term space missions is essential for safeguarding the health of astronauts and maintaining the functionality of spacecraft," the report says.
Challenges faced by living things in such environments include microgravity, radiation, and limited nutrients.
The study of which bacteria survive on space stations is also necessary for understanding how to control and avoid contamination on board.
According to the report, this new strain - which most closely resembles Niallia circulans found on Earth - may be better resistant to radiation and oxidative stress.
It also has a "unique ability" to hydrolyse (break down) gelatine, which could be useful in environments with limited nutrients.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘It's something that happens': are we doing enough to save Earth from a devastating asteroid strike?
It is a scenario beloved of Hollywood: a huge asteroid, several miles wide, is on a collision course with Earth. Scientists check and recheck their calculations but there is no mistake – civilisation is facing a cataclysmic end unless the space rock can be deflected. It may sound like science fiction, but it is a threat that is being taken seriously by scientists. Earlier this year, researchers estimated that asteroid YR4 2024 had a 3.1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, before revising that likelihood down to 0.0017%. This week, new data suggested it was more likely to hit the moon, with a probability of 4.3%. If that happens, the 53- to 67-metre (174ft-220ft) asteroid previously called a 'city killer' will launch hundreds of tonnes of debris towards our planet, posing a risk to satellites, spacecraft and astronauts. Before that, in April 2029, 99942 Apophis – an asteroid larger than the Eiffel Tower – will be visible to the naked eye when it passes within 32,000km of Earth. This attention-grabbing close encounter has prompted the UN to designate 2029 as the international year of planetary defence. When it comes to apocalyptic asteroid strikes, there is precedent, of course. Most scientists believe such an event hastened the demise of non-avian dinosaurs 66m years ago. 'This is something that happens,' said Colin Snodgrass, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. 'Not very often, but it is something that happens. And it's something that we could potentially do something about.' As Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, told the UK parliament's science, innovation and technology committee this week, the risk posed by an asteroid originating beyond our solar system is minimal. Instead, he said, the greater threat comes from those in our cosmic back yard. 'Most asteroids in the solar system exist in the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter, but they become disrupted, usually by encounters with either of those planets, and they can move into orbits that cross the Earth,' said Lintott, who presents the long-running BBC astronomy series The Sky at Night. 'Then it's just a case of whether we're in the wrong place at the wrong time.' The chances of an enormous asteroid – the type that did for the dinosaurs – hitting Earth is admittedly low. 'We think there's one of these every 10m to 100m years, probably,' Lintott told the Guardian. 'So I think you'd be right to ignore that when you decide whether to get up on a Thursday morning or not.' Snodgrass said there were 'precisely four' asteroids big enough and close enough to Earth to be considered 'dino-killers', and added: 'We know where they are, and they're not coming anywhere near us.' But damage can also be done by smaller asteroids. According to Nasa, space rocks measuring about one to 20 metres across collided with Earth's atmosphere resulting in fireballs 556 times over 20 years. Many collisions have occurred over the oceans, but not all. 'Chelyabinsk is the best example,' Lintott said. In 2013, a house-sized space rock – thought to have been about 20 metres across – exploded in the air above the Russian city with a force of nearly 30 Hiroshima bombs, producing an airburst that caused significant damage and hundreds of injuries, mostly from broken glass. Less dramatically, in February 2021 a space rock thought to have been just tens of centimetres across broke up in Earth's atmosphere, with fragments landing in the Cotswold town of Winchcombe in the UK. Thankfully, the damage was confined to a splat mark on a driveway. The types of asteroids we should perhaps be most concerned about are those about 140 metres across. According to Nasa, asteroids around that size are thought to hit Earth about once every 20,000 years and have the potential to cause huge destruction and mass casualties. The space agency has a congressional mandate to detect and track near-Earth objects of this size and larger, and a suite of new technological advances are helping them do just that. On Monday, the first images from the Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile were released to the public. This telescope is expected to more than triple the number of known near-earth objects, from about 37,000 to 127,000, over a 10-year period. In just 10 hours of observations, it found seven previously unspotted asteroids that will pass close to the Earth – though none are expected to hit. Also in the offing, though not planned for launch before 2027, is Nasa's near-Earth object (Neo) surveyor. Armed with an array of infrared detectors, this is 'the first space telescope specifically designed to detect asteroids and comets that may be potential hazards to Earth', the agency says. Lintott said: 'Between those two, we should find everything down to about 140 metres.' He said such observations should give scientists up to 10 years' warning of a potential collision. The European Space Agency (Esa) is planning a near-Earth object mission in the infrared (Neomir) satellite. Slated for launch in the early 2030s, this will help detect asteroids heading towards Earth that are at least 20 metres in diameter and obscured by the sun. Assessing the emerging capabilities, Edward Baker, the planetary defence lead at the UK's National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) at RAF High Wycombe, said: 'I think we're in a good place. I can't see a situation like [the film] Don't Look Up materialising at all – though I wouldn't mind being portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.' As our ability to spot near-Earth asteroids increases, Lintott said, we should get used to hearing about asteroids like YR4 2024, which initially seem more likely to hit Earth before the risk rapidly falls towards zero. He described the shifting probabilities as similar to when a footballer takes a free kick. 'The moment they kick it, [it looks like] it could go anywhere,' he said. 'And then as it moves, you get more information. So you're like: 'Oh, it might go in the goal,' and then it inevitably becomes really clear that it's going to miss.' Of course, scientists aren't just monitoring the risks to Earth. They are also making plans to protect it. In 2022, Nasa crashed a spacecraft into a small, harmless asteroid called Dimorphos that orbits a larger rock called Didymos to test whether it would be possible to shift its path. The Dart mission was a success, reducing Dimorphos's 12-hour orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes. In 2024, Esa launched a follow-up to Nasa's Dart mission, called Hera. This will reach Dimorphos in 2026 and carry out a close-up 'crash site investigation'. It will survey the Dart impact crater, probe how effectively momentum was transferred in the collision and record a host of other measurements. Esa hopes this will provide crucial insights that can be used to make deliberate Dart-style impacts a reliable technique for safeguarding Earth. 'Dart was much more effective than anyone expected it to be,' Lintott said. 'And presumably that's something to do with the structure of the asteroid. I think we need to know whether Dart just got lucky with its target, or whether all near-Earth asteroids are like this.' For the most part, scientists say the threat of an asteroid strike does not keep them up at night. 'We're safer than we've ever been and we're about to get a lot safer, because the more of these things we find, the more we can spot them on the way in,' Lintott said. As Esa has quipped on its merchandise: 'Dinosaurs didn't have a space agency.'
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Great British cuppa really could be a lifesaver, as scientists find two cups of tea a day could drastically lower your risk of heart failure and stroke - just don't add SUGAR
Britons drink 100million of them every day – and it turns out the Great British cuppa could be a lifesaver. Tea, which Oscar Wilde described as the only simple pleasure left, lowers the risk of heart problems and stroke, according to new research. Up to two cups of unsweetened tea a day reduces the risk by up to 21 per cent. But add sugar or sweeteners and the benefits are lost, say academics. Researchers from Nantong University, China, used data on 177,810 UK adults, with an average age of around 55. Of those, 147,903 were tea drinkers, and 68.2 per cent did not add sugar and sweeteners. All were healthy at the start of the study, but over an average of 12.7 years, 15,003 cases of cardiovascular disease were diagnosed, including 2,679 strokes and 2,908 heart failures, it was reported in the International Journal of Cardiology Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention. Those who drank up to two cups of unsweetened tea a day had a 21 per cent reduced risk of heart failure, a 14 per cent lesser chance of having a stroke and were 7 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease. No such effects were found for sweetened tea. It is thought an unsweetened cuppa better preserves biologically active compounds, including polyphenols, in the tea, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Both sugars and artificial sweeteners can promote insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation, which are well-established cardiovascular disease risk factors.
The Sun
14 hours ago
- The Sun
World Health Organisation admits they STILL have no idea what caused Covid pandemic – but refuses to rule out lab leak
A LEADING theory that the Covid pandemic originated from a lab leak in China cannot be ruled out, the World Health Organisation said. A team of experts set up by the WHO in 2021 to investigate Covid's origins said 'all hypotheses remain on the table' - while also accusing Beijing of not giving up critical information. 7 7 7 The Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (Sago) said on Friday that most data suggests the idea that the virus jumped from animals to humans. This is the same conclusion the WHO came to in 2021. Watch the documentary in full on our YouTube channel here Their new report made the bombshell claim that a lab leak theory should "not be ruled out". But they added: "Nor can it be proven until more information is provided." Group chair Marietjie Venter said after three years of investigating, they were unable to come to a certain conclusion of the pandemic's origins. They blasted China for not releasing all necessary data to determine Covid's creation - despite hundreds of requests for genetic sequences and biosecurity information to the government. She Venter: "Therefore, this hypothesis could not be investigated or excluded. "It was deemed to be very speculative, based on political opinions and not backed up by science." Venter said the 27-member group could not reach a unanimous conclusion on Covid's origins, following one member's resignation earlier this week. Three other scientists also asked for their names to be removed from the new report. I was in Oval Office with Trump at start of pandemic - no one was closer to Chinese officials than me & I believe Covid was engineered in lab Covid-19 emerged just eight miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Scientists there had been importing and manipulating bat coronaviruses and had been filmed handling animals with inadequate protection. Venter added that there was no evidence proving Covid was created in a lab, nor was there any indication it was spreading before December 2019 anywhere outside of China. She said: "Until more scientific data becomes available, the origins of how SARS-CoV-2 entered human populations will remain inconclusive." Beijing has consistently refused to release full details about the lab in Wuhan, despite repeated requests for information from multiple countries. 7 7 7 It comes after The Sun's explosive Covid lab leak documentary laid bare the mounting evidence and disturbing questions surrounding the virus's emergence in Wuhan - home to China's most secretive bio-research facility. In April, the US unveiled a bombshell new web page on the origins of Covid, blaming the Wuhan Institute of Virology for unleashing the killer virus. And in a fresh propaganda push, Beijing insisted "substantial evidence" showed Covid "might have emerged in the United States earlier than its officially-claimed timeline, and earlier than the outbreak in China". The document - titled Covid-19 Prevention, Control and Origins Tracing: China's Actions and Stance - was released via China's official Xinhua news agency. It unashamedly accused the US of "indifference and delayed actions" during the global Covid fight - and of scapegoating China to deflect from its own "mismanaged" response. It wrote: "The US has made China the primary scapegoat for its own mismanaged COVID-19 response." The report added that America was 'spreading misinformation' and wasted 'precious time China had secured for the global fight against the pandemic". It revived Beijing's long-standing claims that it shared information with the world in a "timely manner". The paper added: 'The US should not continue to 'pretend to be deaf and dumb', but should respond to the legitimate concerns of the international community.' In May Donald Trump banned all US funding for risky virus research in China and beyond, five years after Covid-19 upended the planet. The US President said in the Oval Office last month: 'I said that right from day one it leaked out — whether it was to the girlfriend or somebody else, [a] scientist walked outside to have lunch with the girlfriend or was together with a lot of people — but that's how it leaked out in my opinion." The Sun's investigation into the origins of Covid 'Smoking gun' docs show US scientists planned to make viruses in Wuhan with SAME features of Covid year before outbreak Pentagon was told SIX times that Covid was lab leak at start of pandemic – but buried the truth, ex-intel official says US government backed shock Wuhan lab plan to collect 500,000 viruses months before Covid… and KNEW it was dangerous Wuhan Covid 'lab leak' firm given $60m US taxpayer funding for MORE virus tests Covid was 'perfectly adapted' to infect humans when virus emerged in Wuhan which 'proves' lab leak Bombshell clues that 'prove' China hid Covid lab leak in 'cover up of the century worse than Watergate' Crumbling sewers, no PPE, & filthy cages – Inside 'chaotic & crowded' Wuhan labs which may have unleashed Covid Wuhan Covid 'lab leak' scientists were 'bitten by bats & sprayed with blood' China's OWN scientists discussed 'problems' with Wuhan lab days after Covid outbreak Secret memo shows how panicked China ordered labs to destroy Covid samples Wuhan lab chief 'ordered scientists not to talk about Covid origins ' in leaked email France 'warned Wuhan lab could be turned into a 'biological arsenal' by Chinese military four years before Covid 'leak'
