32 research outputs found
BioRock:new experiments and hardware to investigate microbe–mineral interactions in space
In this paper, we describe the development of an International Space Station experiment,
BioRock. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate biofilm formation and microbe–mineral
interactions in space. The latter research has application in areas as diverse as regolith amelioration and
extraterrestrial mining. We describe the design of a prototype biomining reactor for use in space
experimentation and investigations on in situ Resource Use and we describe the results of pre-flight tests
Microbial interaction with terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks on the International Space Station
As space agencies plan to expand human presence in space and to settle on the Moon first and Mars later, developing strategies to achieve this goal in a sustainable way is necessary. These include in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and recovering of materials by waste recycling (1). Microbe based technologies may be pivotal to the success of human space exploration. Potential roles of microorganisms in space include manufacturing, as building blocks of ecosystems, in waste recycling and in biomining (2). Understanding microbial response to space conditions is therefore essential to harness their potential. [...
No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction
Microorganisms perform countless tasks on Earth and they are expected to be essential
for human space exploration. Despite the interest in the responses of bacteria to space
conditions, the findings on the effects of microgravity have been contradictory, while
the effects of Martian gravity are nearly unknown. We performed the ESA BioRock
experiment on the International Space Station to study microbe-mineral interactions in
microgravity, simulated Mars gravity and simulated Earth gravity, as well as in ground
gravity controls, with three bacterial species: Sphingomonas desiccabilis, Bacillus
subtilis, and Cupriavidus metallidurans. To our knowledge, this was the first experiment
to study simulated Martian gravity on bacteria using a space platform. Here, we tested
the hypothesis that different gravity regimens can influence the final cell concentrations
achieved after a multi-week period in space. Despite the different sedimentation rates
predicted, we found no significant differences in final cell counts and optical densities
between the three gravity regimens on the ISS. This suggests that possible gravityrelated effects on bacterial growth were overcome by the end of the experiment. The
results indicate that microbial-supported bioproduction and life support systems can be
effectively performed in space (e.g., Mars), as on Earth
Fifteen years of microbiological investigation in Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri rock laboratory (Switzerland)
Microbially-Enhanced Vanadium Mining and Bioremediation Under Micro- and Mars Gravity on the International Space Station
IPED: a highly efficient denoising tool for Illumina MiSeq Paired-end 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data
Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries
Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry(1,2). Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis(3), and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach(4), we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry(5). Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries.</p
Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries
Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries
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Occurrence and diversity of fast-growing Mycobacterium species in soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs