A New Frontier: Scientists To Launch Fungi Into Space In Hopes Of Unlocking New Medical Properties
On Earth, scientists use stressed fungi to create medicine, like the antibiotic penicillin, and they hope that similar results will play out when the fungi are stressed by being in space.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
How Fungi Sent To Space By USC, NASA Might Change Medicine Forever
A joint experiment by NASA and the University of Southern California that will send fungi to space could change the way medicine is produced, both here on Earth and on long distance journeys across our solar system. It sounds like the start of a clichéd horror film plot, but researchers from USC and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory hope the stresses of space will force the fungi to develop new medicinal characteristics never seen before on Earth. (Henry, 3/28)