Space Shuttle Atlantis is set to take off Friday, July 8, as NASA’s 135th and final space shuttle mission, bringing a 30-year shuttle program to a close.
Although the program is being retired, scientific experiments will continue in space aboard the International Space Station, which serves as a unique platform for cutting-edge research for private sector biotech firms.
One such group, Astrogenetix, has sent salmonella and MRSA bacteria into space twelve times over the last three years with the goal of finding vaccines.
Researchers have found that bacteria grows faster and stronger in space because there’s no gravity. So scientists can better investigate how bacteria grow and then use that data to remove genes from those DNA sequences.
Although the program is being retired, scientific experiments will continue in space aboard the International Space Station, which serves as a unique platform for cutting-edge research for private sector biotech firms.
One such group, Astrogenetix, has sent salmonella and MRSA bacteria into space twelve times over the last three years with the goal of finding vaccines.
Researchers have found that bacteria grows faster and stronger in space because there’s no gravity. So scientists can better investigate how bacteria grow and then use that data to remove genes from those DNA sequences.
