Superbugs in space

Sunita Williams' new workout buddy in space could reshape our understanding of microbial life and health

A constellation of panicked headlines recently danced across our screens: “Sunita Williams in danger?”, “Trouble for Sunita Williams, crew”, “Sunita Williams ‘bugged’ in space”, and so on. The very notion of this intrepid astronaut and others like her, nestled within the International Space Station (ISS), beset by unseen adversaries, stirred the collective imagination.

Though the situation at the ISS is slightly unsettling, holding funeral dirges would be an overkill.

Astronauts aboard the space station have found themselves facing a foe far tinier than any rogue asteroid: A joint study by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Nasa’s Jet