Bacteria More Virulent in Microgravity

Tortured Potato writes "Did you know that salmonella become more virulent in simulated microgravity? No one's sure why, either. Professor Cheryl Nickerson of Tulane University is hoping to find out why when an experiment with brewer's yeast gets sent up on a Russian Progress rocket to the Space Station next year."

Volunteers needed?

[flagweb]

May I be the first to volunteer to test the Brewers Yeast in space. Preferably in its fermented liquid state. I am especially interested if the space trip is free (as in Beer).

Space...the next brewery

[krypticide]

Soon the biggest occupant of near space will be giant breweries, with giant pipes connecting them to the ground to feed beer-lovers all over the world.

prediction

[theMerovingian]

an experiment with brewer's yeast gets sent up on a Russian Progress rocket to the Space Station next year

Next slashdot article:
Germans initiate a new space program, volunteer additional funding for the ISS.

Dumb question

[Mothgoul]

If you could initiate negative g's, what would happen to the yeast? Sour beer?

Re:This brings the question...

[Idarubicin]

Come on, folks. Insightful? The parent post was being Funny. I hope.

High g forces will kill a bacterium. One technique sometimes used in biology labs to extract the content of cells is centrifugation--fifteen thousand gees for a handful of minutes will crush most cells and let you get at the goodness inside.

This technique is not recommended for killing bacteria inside a living person, however. Pulping patients is a practice generally frowned upon by the medical profession.

The few gees that a healthy person could withstand on a continuous basis aren't enough for a bacterium to even notice.