Bacteria that are dangerous to humans and can survive in Martian conditions have been discovered
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A team of scientists has discovered four species of bacteria that can survive in the aggressive environment of Mars. The study was published in journal Astrobiology.
Scientists have created an environment that mimics that of Mars, with regolith, low temperatures, lack of oxygen and radiation. The bacteria Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Burkholderia cepacia were then placed under these conditions. All of them are known to be pathogenic to humans.
The researchers first studied the response of each type of microorganism to each condition separately, and then they were exposed to all four factors simultaneously. It turned out that Burkholderia cepacia could not reproduce in soil containing sodium perchlorate and the decrease in humidity levels greatly affected its survival.
However, the remaining bacteria showed some viability. Three of them survived exposure to Martian conditions for 21 days, while P. aeruginosa continued to reproduce. These results indicate that accidental introduction of bacteria to Mars could pose a health risk to future astronauts.
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