Man Has Invented His Doom/First Step Was Touching the Moon

Science reveals grim truth: germs sent out into orbit return–as wacky, koo-koo super germs, packed with extra deadliosity. USA Today chills our blood:

Researchers placed identical strains of salmonella in containers and sent one into space aboard the shuttle, while the second was kept on Earth, under similar temperature conditions to the one in space.

After the shuttle returned, mice were given varying oral doses of the salmonella and then were watched.

After 25 days, 40% of the mice given the Earth-bound salmonella were still alive, compared with just 10% of those dosed with the germs from space. And the researchers found it took about one-third as much of the space germs to kill half the mice, compared with the germs that had been on Earth.

The researchers found 167 genes had changed in the salmonella that went to space.

Link from the invaluable Rational Review.

Bob Dylan warns against space travel (and stagnant pools); this germ news certainly gives further reason to avoid growing food on the Moon and eating it raw.