"We'd even like to be able to use our system to figure out what 'bug' an astronaut has if he or she becomes ill." "Ultimately we want to provide cartridges for all kinds of micro-organisms and chemical compounds," says Morris. This one will detect the presence of Gram-positive bacteria such as staphylococcus and streptococcus. Since fungi actually decomposed some electronics on the Russian Space Station MIR, they have become unwelcome "house guests." LOCAD can detect low concentrations of a common fungal compound this allows LOCAD to find fungi on surfaces before the fungi have a chance to multiply.īy the end of the year, yet another cartridge will be available for the space station. coli and salmonella, the latest LOCAD cartridges just sent up to station aboard shuttle mission STS-123 can alert the crew to fungi. In addition to detecting Gram-negative 1 bacteria like E. Right: Heather Morris works on LOCAD technology in her laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "It's important to monitor bacteria on the space station so we can find the best way to keep them under control," says Morris, who adds this curiosity: "LOCAD can't yet distinguish between live and dead bacteria." So no one can cry out, it's dead, Jim! "We're working to add this capability in the future." Nothing has to be sent back to a lab on Earth, which would take time and introduce the possibility of contamination en route. The whole easy procedure is done on location. What's in the sample? The system gives its answer less than 15 minutes later. Flushing sterile water through the swab converts the sample to liquid form, and the astronaut puts a few drops into the LOCAD. Here's how it works: An ISS crewmember uses a dry swab to take samples of surfaces where microbes might be lurking. LOCAD keeps track of these tiny lifeforms. Most live in harmony with native human cells others can make you sick. Biologists estimate that every human body has at least a trillion hitchhiking microbes, accounting for as much as 2% of a person's total mass. It is a fact of life that wherever humans go, microbes follow. Sign up for EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery
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