{"id":119651,"date":"2025-05-21T11:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T11:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/119651\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T11:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T11:26:12","slug":"scientists-discover-an-unknown-bacteria-that-has-never-been-seen-on-earth-inside-chinas-tiangong-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/119651\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists discover an unknown bacteria that has NEVER been seen on Earth inside China’s Tiangong space station"},"content":{"rendered":"

The search for life in space has led astronomers to look everywhere from the surface of Mars<\/a> to the atmospheres of the most distant exoplanets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, scientists have discovered unknown bacteria that have never been seen on Earth – living inside a cabin on China<\/a>‘s Tiangong space station.<\/p>\n

The bacteria, named Niallia tiangongensis after the station, are a relative of a soil-dwelling bacterium from Earth.<\/p>\n

However, the researchers found that this unique bacteria has evolved special adaptations that help it survive in space.<\/p>\n

This includes specialised genes which help repair damage caused by the intense radiation found beyond Earth’s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Most surprisingly, the scientists found that the bacteria have evolved the ability to eat gelatine in order to create a tough protective ‘biofilm’.<\/p>\n

While its closest relative on Earth is known to cause sepsis, it has not yet been determined whether Niallia tiangongensis poses a threat to humans.<\/p>\n

The researchers say that understanding the abilities of new space-faring bacteria is ‘essential for safeguarding the health of astronauts’.<\/p>\n

\"Scientists <\/p>\n

Scientists have discovered an unknown species of bacteria that has never been seen on Earth living on China’s Tiangong space station\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new species was found in samples taken from the station in 2023 by members of the Shenzhou-15 mission.<\/p>\n

The crew swabbed the walls of the station with sterile tissues, which were then frozen and sent back to Earth for analysis.<\/p>\n

When scientists analysed these samples, they found a type of bacteria which was similar to the common soil-dwelling species Niallia circulans.<\/p>\n

Niallia circulans is a rod-shaped bacteria which spreads itself by dispersing spores and is commonly found in the ground, sewage, and in food.<\/p>\n

In immunocompromised patients, Niallia circulans can cause sepsis – a life-threatening condition caused by the body reacting improperly to a bacterial infection.<\/p>\n

Just like its earthly cousin, Niallia tiangongensis also propagates by spreading spores, which can survive extreme conditions.<\/p>\n

Niallia tiangongensis likely started as a small colony of Niallia circulans bacteria or spores, which slowly adapted to their new life in space after being taken onto the station.<\/p>\n

These adaptations help the bacteria survive in the nutrient-scarce space-station interior and resist the stresses of space.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The bacteria, which were named Niallia tiangongensis after the station, are a relative of a soil-dwelling bacterium from Earth that can cause sepsis (stock image)\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, this is not the first time that humans have accidentally created new bacterial species by taking them into space.<\/p>\n

In April last year, NASA discovered 13 new strains of drug-resistant bacteria living on the International Space Station inside the air vents, exercise equipment, and toilets.<\/p>\n

Just like Niallia tiangongensis, the scientists believe these bacteria started out as species from Earth, which evolved over time after hitching a ride into space.<\/p>\n

Space agencies go to great lengths not to contaminate the controlled environments of space stations or other planets.<\/p>\n

But, as NASA is beginning to discover, it is almost impossible to prevent bacteria from getting a foothold in even the most sterile environment.<\/p>\n

NASA recently discovered that the ‘clean rooms’ used to prep the Phoenix Mars Lander were home to 53 strains of bacteria, including 26 previously unknown species.<\/p>\n

Bacteria are so ludicrously tough that the space agency has even launched a mission to swab the outside of the ISS to see if any germs might be surviving in the harsh vacuum of space.<\/p>\n

This is a pressing issue for the Chinese Space Agency and NASA since both organisations are currently attempting to establish permanent bases on the moon.<\/p>\n

\"Despite <\/p>\n

Despite the sterile conditions of the Tiangong station (pictured), the scientists found that the bacteria had evolved to survive better in space. The bacteria had evolved a better resistance to harsh space radiation and the ability to digest gelatine\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This is not the first time new bacteria have been discovered in space environments. NASA has even found 26 new species of bacteria living inside its supposedly-sterile clean rooms used to prepare spacecraft like the James Webb Space Telescope (pictured) of the Phoenix Mars Lander<\/p>\n

Within the cramped confines of a remote space station, infections can spread rapidly between crew members.<\/p>\n

If novel, antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop inside the station, this could sweep through the crew and cause serious health risks.<\/p>\n

The overly sterile environment of a space station actually makes this risk worse by allowing a handful of hardy bacteria to thrive uninhibited.<\/p>\n

NASA recently found that an increase in rashes and cold sores experienced by astronauts on the ISS might actually be caused by the station being too clean.<\/p>\n

Without other bacteria competing for resources, germs from the astronauts’ skin were thriving on the station walls and leading to more common infections.<\/p>\n

If nations are serious about keeping humans in space for good, they will need to find a way to manage and control the spread of these new bacterial species.<\/p>\n

KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY’S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE<\/a> <\/p>\n

Discovery of pulsars<\/p>\n

British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.<\/p>\n

Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.<\/p>\n

Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.<\/p>\n

‘Wow!’ radio signal<\/p>\n

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data.<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote ‘Wow!’ next to his data<\/p>\n

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from\u00a0Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.<\/p>\n

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the ‘Wow! signal’, which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.<\/p>\n

Fossilised Martian microbes<\/p>\n

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.<\/p>\n

The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.<\/p>\n

\"Photographs <\/p>\n

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)<\/p>\n

However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behaviour of Tabby’s Star in 2005\u00a0<\/p>\n

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.<\/p>\n

It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist’s impression)<\/p>\n

Recent studies have ‘eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure’, and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.<\/p>\n

Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017\u00a0<\/p>\n

In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.<\/p>\n

Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star ‘Trappist-1’, and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.<\/p>\n

Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: ‘This is just the beginning.’\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The search for life in space has led astronomers to look everywhere from the surface of Mars to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1395,92,875,7547,874,70,261,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-119651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-earth","11":"tag-iss","12":"tag-nasa","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-sciencetech","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114545583101315230","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}