Biological invasion… Do diseases from space threaten us?

A frantic global race that has recently increased in pace towards commercial space flights, as international companies compete to organize space tourism trips. On the other hand, some researchers are concerned about this rush, warning of “strange diseases” coming from space, according to a Sky News Arabia report.

In a recent study published in the journal “Bio Science”, researchers warned of a biological invasion, as scientists say that if an alien object manages to return to our planet on board a spacecraft, it may cause chaos in the balance of the Earth, so scientists stress on enhancing biosecurity. The benefits of biosecurity are the early recognition of emerging pest and disease threats, and the ability to respond to these threats.

The most dangerous scenario The researchers say that there is a limited possibility of a biological invasion, especially since we have not found extraterrestrial life yet, but we must be prepared for the matter in all cases.

Scientists point out that the most dangerous and likely scenario is that a human tourist carries a microbe into space, and in this case the greatest danger may occur, which is that this microbe develops in space, and later represents a danger to humans. To illustrate this danger, scientists say that some microbes can undergo rapid genetic mutations in conditions similar to the environment in space. After cultivating thousands of generations of “coliforms” (bacteria that live in the intestines of mammals) in microgravity conditions, the researchers found that harmful bacteria grew more Competitive, acquired resistance to antibiotics.

And if this antibiotic-resistant strain is brought back to the planet, it could seriously threaten human life. Therefore, scientists stress the importance of working with more complex protocols to prevent biological pollution from extraterrestrial environments to Earth, and vice versa. In the context, the researchers point out in the study that when an Israeli spacecraft collided with the moon in 2019, it threw a “slow-walking” animal on the moon’s surface, which may still be alive, which may indicate the occurrence of developments for this animal, It may represent a danger to the planet in the event of its return.

Even more alarming, bacterial strains with signs of extreme resistance are also being isolated in NASA’s “clean rooms” where personnel assemble spacecraft. It becomes a major threat to humans.