Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #31696: Fighting Bacteria in Space: Kanamycin Resistance in Microgravity

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most critical challenges in modern medicine. But what happens when you take that fight to space? Students from Valley Christian High School explored this by studying bacterial growth and resistance to kanamycin—an antibiotic—aboard the ISS during Expeditions 39/40.

Using specially designed growth chambers, they monitored how bacteria responded to kanamycin in microgravity compared to Earth-based samples. The experiment aimed to understand if the effectiveness of antibiotics changes when gravity is removed, and whether bacteria become more resistant in such conditions.

The results showed notable differences in bacterial growth rates and antibiotic resistance, suggesting that space environments may influence how bacteria evolve and respond to treatments. This information could be crucial for future space missions, where maintaining crew health will depend heavily on effective microbial management.

Furthermore, it raises questions about the mutation rate of microbes in space and whether we need new pharmaceutical strategies for extraterrestrial medicine. Student-driven, this experiment demonstrates how high school researchers are tackling big questions that even professional scientists are exploring.

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