{"673745":{"#nid":"673745","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Growing Bacteria in Space with Astronauts ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis story by Kelsey Gulledge first appeared in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ae.gatech.edu\/\u0022 title=\u0022Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering\u0022\u003EDaniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E newsroom. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ae.gatech.edu\/news\/2024\/03\/growing-bacteria-space-astronauts\u0022\u003ESee the full feature here\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers are teaming up with NASA to study bacteria on the International Space Station to help define how scientists and healthcare professionals combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria for long-duration space missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pxl.earth\/\u0022\u003EPlanetary eXploration Lab\u003C\/a\u003E (PXL), researchers will work with astronauts living on the International Space Station as they collect air, water, and surface samples. Using testing methods created on campus, the astronauts and scientists will watch microbes grow to learn which bacteria are resistant to specific antibiotics.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe work is part of NASA\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/biological-physical\/investigations\/gears\/\u0022\u003EGenomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space\u003C\/a\u003E (GEARS) study, led by \u003Cstrong\u003EAaron Burton\u003C\/strong\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003ESarah Wallace\u003C\/strong\u003E from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/johnson\/\u0022\u003ENASA Johnson Space Center\u003C\/a\u003E. Marking SpaceX\u2019s 30th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA, the GEARS research is on board a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 21. If all goes according to plan, the Dragon capsule will reach the International Space Station on the morning of March 23.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur lab has previously studied bacteria colonies from the International Space Station and found \u003Cem\u003EEnterococcus faecalis\u003C\/em\u003E (EF) was resistant to many antibiotics,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher E. Carr\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Edirector of the PXL and assistant professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering (AE) and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E (EAS). \u201cThis particular bacteria species is a core member of the human gut and has evolved over the past 400 million years, making it a difficult pathogen to treat in humans and on surfaces.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEF is the second leading cause of hospital-acquired infections after Staphylococci. Much like hospital environments, on the International Space Station is built in such a way that studying antibiotic-resistant microbes there could provide insight into how these organisms survive, adapt, and evolve in space and on Earth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 30-day GEARS mission will supplement the routine microbial surveillance testing conducted on the International Space Station with an antibiotic-resistant screening step. Astronauts onboard will collect samples and observe what microbes grow on their pre-treated contact slides, a rectangular-shaped petri dish.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe contact slides contain antibiotic-infused agar, a gel-like fuel source for bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. Therefore, anything that grows on the slides will be identified as antibiotic-resistant to that particular antibiotic. Astronauts will then use a pipet to carefully extract DNA from a bacterial colony and sequence it using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION, nanopore sequencing device, which will identify the microbe that is present, as well as sequence its entire genome in real-time.\u0026nbsp;\u201cIf we found a new organism that we\u2019ve never seen before, we\u2019d be able to detect it, sequence its entire genome, and determine how it might be resistant to different types of antibiotics,\u201d said Carr.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis new technology will allow humans to travel further - and longer - into space without having to send data back to Earth for processing. \u201cFor the purposes of this study and to maximize the science yield, these bacteria will travel back to Earth,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EJordan McKaig\u003C\/strong\u003E, PXL researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the EAS. \u201cThen we can study them more extensively to better reveal their genomic features, how they are adapting to the built environment, and understand the risks \u2013 if any -- they may pose to astronauts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists and researchers at NASA Johnson will use this information to figure out what may make astronauts sick in space, how to optimize their health, and make plans for potential counter measures and treatments. This data is critical because astronauts\u2019 immune systems often become compromised due to space flight conditions. The GEARS mission will launch a total of four times over the next year to study the bacteria and data thoroughly. The second mission is expected to launch later this summer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to hopefully traveling to the launch and getting to see the science that we\u2019ve been working on for a couple of years go to space. It\u2019s really a dream come true,\u201d said McKaig.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile GEARS is in orbit, Carr and the PXL team will prepare for their next study, EnteroGAIT, which will investigate thousands of mutants simultaneously to see what genes are involved in adapting to the space environment.\u0026nbsp; It is currently in the science verification testing phase.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers are collaborating with NASA to study antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the International Space Station. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers are teaming up with NASA to study bacteria on the International Space Station to help define how scientists and healthcare professionals combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria for long-duration space missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers are teaming up with NASA to study bacteria on the International Space Station to help define how scientists and healthcare professionals combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria for long-duration space missions."}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2024-03-25 20:30:41","changed_gmt":"2024-03-25 20:33:04","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673485":{"id":"673485","type":"image","title":"jordan.jpgGeorgia Tech Ph.D. student Jordan McKaig demonstrates how NASA astronauts onboard the International Space Station will use the MinION sequencing device to identify bacteria genomes. Credit: Georgia Tech","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Ph.D. student Jordan McKaig demonstrates how NASA astronauts onboard the International Space Station will use the MinION sequencing device to identify bacteria genomes. Credit: Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1711398650","gmt_created":"2024-03-25 20:30:50","changed":"1711398650","gmt_changed":"2024-03-25 20:30:50","alt":"Georgia Tech Ph.D. student Jordan McKaig demonstrates how NASA astronauts onboard the International Space Station will use the MinION sequencing device to identify bacteria genomes. Credit: Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"256884","name":"jordan.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/25\/jordan.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/03\/25\/jordan.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":664351,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/03\/25\/jordan.jpg?itok=GePLJjEl"}}},"media_ids":["673485"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192250","name":"cos-microbial"},{"id":"193266","name":"cos-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKelsey Gulledge\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDaniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}