The First Squid in Space Will Test the Effects of Space on Beneficial Bacteria
An Adult Bobtail Squid Hans Hillewaert/Wikimedia Commons We've already bid our fond farewell to the space shuttle Endeavour, but as it blasted into the great blue yonder for the last time Monday, the astronauts were accompanied by a different sort of companion: the first cephalopod ever to enter space. The baby bobtail squid was only invited along because NASA wants to study the effect of space on the microbes in its organs. The bobtail squid uses the bioluminescent Vibrio fischeri microbes to cast light downward and dispel its shadow. Bacteria that have ridden on shuttles in the past have become more vicious after their trip. But microbes such as Salmonella, which made the journey in 2007 and was subsequently three times more likely to kill a host mouse, are already harmful. NASA wants to see what will happen in the case of the squid's mutually beneficial relationship with its microorganisms....