Hibernating bacteria can invade hospitals and survive outer space – but their high energy bill is a weakness that scientists can strike

Bacteria make a survival gamble when they devote all their energy to forming spores. Evolution is quick to get rid of this function, and researchers did the accounting to understand why.

By: Canan Karakoç, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: September 28, 2026

Words: 1,417

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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By Canan Karakoç, Georgia Institute of Technology

A spore is a bacterium’s survival capsule: dried almost solid, wrapped in protein armor and chemical processes shut down. Bacteria enter this state of hibernation when environmental conditions are unfavorable. What’s left is close to indestructible: It can survive boiling, desiccation, radiation and the vacuum of space. NASA once bolted Bacillus spores to the outside of a satellite and left them in orbit for nearly six years; …

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