Mutant Diseases May Cripple Missions to Mars, Beyond

from National Geographic News

Mutant hitchhikers may become a major hurdle in the quest to send humans deeper into the galaxy, scientists say.

That's because no matter how fit astronauts feel at liftoff, they're likely to be carrying disease-causing microbes such as toxic E. coli and Staphylococcus strains.

Charged particles zipping through space, known as cosmic rays, can mutate the otherwise manageable microbes, spurring the bugs to reproduce quicker and become more virulent, recent studies show.