A Falcon 9 rocket is preparing for its mission to carry a most lethal superbug in space .The mission’s purpose is testing this dangerous bacteria in zero gravity environment to develop a antibiotic.Space junkie Elon musk’s spacex will launch it in the space in this coming valentine’s day of 2017 .
The pathogen is called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, and causes very frequent and difficult-to-treat infections in hospitalized patients. .One of the main clinical concerns is that this superbug is rapidly becoming resistant to most currently available antibiotics.
The study is sponsored by NASA and CASIS and will be led by Anita Goel, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Goel is the the Chairman .
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that’s become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections.
Our work in micorgravity on International Space Station is both very practical and fundamental. We are pushing the envelope of personalized, precision medicine, enabling better prediction of drug resistance and hence smarter drugs. On a fundamental science level, I am keen to test my 20 year old hypothesis that the environment can deeply influence the information flow from both the genome and transcriptome.
—Anita Goel, M.D., Ph.D.
The bacteria can also be spread through contact with contaminated objects such towels, sheets, clothes, dressings, surfaces, door handles and floors.
People staying in hospital are most at risk of becoming infected with MRSA because:
- they’re surrounded by a large number of people, which means the bacteria can spread more easily
- they often have an entry point for the bacteria to get into their body, such as a surgical wound or urinary catheter
- they may have serious or complex health problems, which makes them more vulnerable to infection
Most MRSA infections occur in people who’ve been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. When it occurs in these settings, it’s known as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints .
We wish the best outcome of the mission and hope one day the space will the laboratory of human development.
