Astronauts leave behind many things when they boldly go. Bacteria, however, stay with them.
Extreme spaceflight conditions can force these bacteria to toughen up, while simultaneously lowering the immune defenses of the stressed, isolated crew. These effects -- and the risk of infection -- grow with mission duration.
Now researchers have taken another small step towards deep space exploration, by testing a new silver- and ruthenium-based antimicrobial coating aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, their study shows that the AGXX® dramatically reduced the number of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces -- and could help protect future astronauts beyond the moon and Mars.
I've been using silver as a prophylaxis for decades. To read more, click here.