fromwww.scientificamerican.com
6 months agoBacteria in Spacecraft Clean Rooms Are Almost Impossible to Kill
That's important because other clean-room survivors had been known to live through disinfection by forming spores, which are thick-walled structures that protect bacteria from high temperatures or toxins such as ethanol. The actinobacterium Tersicoccus phoenicis can't form these spores, but a new study published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum shows that it can go into a state similar to hibernation. In this state, it has no growth and almost no metabolism but has the ability to wake up when conditions improve.