Fungus in Space at the International Space Station

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Do you have bad dreams about space and molds? Jell-O Molds? Jell-O Jiggler Molds?

So do the astronauts on the International Space Station.

The astronauts spend a lot of time cleaning spores/molds/fungus off of everything on the space station and outside the space station also. Yes, you heard that, outside too.

The spores — which astronauts spend hours cleaning every week — can survive X-ray exposure at 200 times the dosage that would kill a human being, according to Marta Cortesao, a microbiologist at the German Aerospace Centre in Cologne, who is presenting the research.

And that’s not all. The common mould spores found on the ISS — aspergillus and penicillium — can also survive extreme temperatures, ultraviolet light, chemicals and dry conditions. Their resilience not only makes it harder to clean, but more likely to survive long-term.” – CBC

So they are now looking for practical uses for the nuisances.

Could this be the start of a mutant fungus apocalypes?

Or could this lead to many a scientific breakthroughs like most stuff the space agencies do and trickle down to consumer use?

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