Health

Space experiments reveal new way to fight drug-resistant superbugs, scientists say

Published

3 months ago

January 14, 2026

Space experiments reveal new way to fight drug-resistant superbugs, scientists say

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Research conducted partly aboard the International Space Station (ISS) suggests that “microgravity” could help scientists fight drug-resistant superbugs, according to a report from SWNS.

Microgravity is the condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless, NASA states.

Experiments by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison show that viruses and bacteria behave differently in near-weightless conditions. In space, they develop genetic changes not typically seen on Earth.

DEADLY ‘SUPERBUG’ IS SPREADING ACROSS US AS DRUG RESISTANCE GROWS, RESEARCHERS WARN

Lead study author Dr. Phil Huss, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, noted that interactions between viruses that infect bacteria — known as phages — and their hosts play an “integral” role in how microbial ecosystems function, per the SWSN report.

Viruses that infect bacteria were still able to infect E. coli in space. However, the way those infections unfolded was different from what is typically observed on Earth.

E. coli is a group of bacteria that can live in the gut and are harmless most of the time, according to Cleveland Clinic. (iStock)

Bacteria and phages are often described as being locked in an evolutionary arms race, Huss said, with each side constantly adapting to outmaneuver the other.

“Microgravity is not just a slower or noisier version of Earth — it is a distinct physical and evolutionary environment,” researcher Srivatsan Raman, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at the university, told Fox News Digital.

“Even in a very simple phage-bacteria system, microgravity altered infection dynamics and pushed both organisms down different evolutionary paths,” he added.

CONTAMINATED MEAT BLAMED FOR RISE IN COMMON URINARY INFECTIONS, EXPERTS WARN

While these interactions between bacteria and phages have been well-studied on Earth, few studies have examined them in space, where they can lead to different outcomes.

For the study, Huss and his colleagues compared two sets of E. coli samples infected with a phage known as T7. One set was incubated on Earth, while the other was grown aboard the ISS.

The ISS is a microgravity environment — where people and objects appear weightless. (NASA / SWNS)

The team found that after an initial slowdown, the T7 phage successfully infected E. coli in space. Genetic analysis later revealed clear differences in how both the bacteria and the virus mutated in space compared with how they behaved on Earth, per the report.

Huss said the phages grown aboard the space station developed mutations that could improve their ability to infect bacteria or attach to bacterial cells. At the same time, the E. coli grown in space developed mutations that could help them resist infection and survive better in near-weightless conditions.

GROWING ANTIBIOTIC CRISIS COULD TURN BACTERIAL INFECTIONS DEADLY, EXPERTS WARN

Raman said some of the findings were unexpected. In particular, he noted, microgravity led to mutations in parts of the phage genome that are not well-understood and are rarely seen in Earth-based experiments.

The E. coli grown in space developed mutations that could help them resist infection and survive better in near-weightless conditions. (iStock)

Researchers then used a technique called deep mutational scanning — a method that tracks how genetic changes affect function — to examine changes in the T7 receptor-binding protein, which plays a key role in infection.

Additional experiments on Earth linked those changes to increased effectiveness against E. coli strains that are normally resistant to T7.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

“Equally surprising was that phages shaped by microgravity could be more effective against terrestrial bacterial pathogens when brought back to Earth,” Raman told Fox News Digital.

“That result suggests microgravity can reveal combinations of mutations that are difficult to access through standard laboratory evolution, but [are] still highly relevant for real-world applications.”

“Microgravity is not just a slower or noisier version of Earth — it is a distinct physical and evolutionary environment.”

Huss said the findings could help address antibiotic-resistant infections, including urinary tract infections, which have been increasing in recent years.

“By studying those space-driven adaptations, we identified new biological insights that allowed us to engineer phages with far superior activity against drug-resistant pathogens back on Earth,” Huss told SWNS.

Study limitations

“Experiments on the ISS are constrained by small sample sizes, fixed hardware and scheduling constraints,” Raman noted. “Samples also experience freezing and long storage times, which can complicate interpretation.”

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

He added that the research has broader implications.

“Studying microbes in space isn’t just about space biology,” Raman said. “These experiments can uncover new aspects of viral infection and microbial evolution that feed directly back into terrestrial problems, including antimicrobial resistance and phage therapy.”

Space should be treated as a discovery environment rather than a routine testing platform, one researcher said. (iStock)

He added that space should be treated as a discovery environment rather than a routine testing platform. The most effective approach, according to Raman, is to identify useful patterns and mutations in space and then study them carefully in Earth-based systems.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Scientists also noted that the findings highlight how microbial ecosystems, like those associated with humans, could change during long space missions.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Understanding and anticipating those changes will be essential as space travel becomes longer, more routine and more biologically complex,” Raman said.

The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.

Click to comment

Health

Marriage status has surprising link to cancer risk, study suggests: ‘Clear signal’

Published

6 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Marriage status has surprising link to cancer risk, study suggests: ‘Clear signal’

Marriage linked to lower cancer risk, study finds

Dr. Namrata Vijayvergia, a medical oncologist, shares insights into recent studies on health and lifestyle, explaining why marriage correlates with lower cancer risk due to better social support and healthy behaviors.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Adults who never married are significantly more likely to develop cancer, according to new research from the University of Miami.

A large study of more than 4 million Americans across 12 states found that this increased risk spans nearly every major cancer type. It is especially true for preventable cancers, such as types caused by smoking and infection.

Men who never married were found to have a 70% higher likelihood of cancer than their married counterparts. For women, that gap was even wider, with never-married individuals facing an 85% higher risk.

EATING MORE OF CERTAIN TYPE OF FOOD COULD SHORTEN CANCER SURVIVORS’ LIVES, STUDY FINDS

Previous research has linked marriage to better survival rates after a diagnosis, but this is one of the first studies to show that marital status could be a major indicator of whether a person will develop cancer in the first place.

“These findings suggest that social factors such as marital status may serve as important markers of cancer risk at the population level,” study co-author Paulo Pinheiro, a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said in a press release.

Adults who never married are significantly more likely to develop cancer, according to new research from the University of Miami. (Getty Images)

Between 2015 and 2022, the team examined cancer cases diagnosed at age 30 or older and compared the rates of various cancers to the marital status of participants. They then broke down the data by sex and race and adjusted for age.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Adult men who were never married had approximately five times the rate of anal cancer compared to married men, the study found.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Adult women who were never married had nearly three times the rate of cervical cancer compared to women who were or had been married.

“It’s a clear and powerful signal that some individuals are at a greater risk,” Frank Penedo, director of the Sylvester Survivorship and Supportive Care Institute at the University of Miami, said in the release.

For women, being married (and often, by extension, having children) was associated with lower risks of ovarian and endometrial cancers. (iStock)

For women, being married (and often, by extension, having children) was associated with lower risks of ovarian and endometrial cancers, likely due to hormonal and biological factors associated with pregnancy, according to the researchers.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Experts stressed that these findings do not mean marriage alone can protect against cancer.

“It means that if you’re not married, you should be paying extra attention to cancer risk factors, getting any screenings you may need, and staying up to date on healthcare,” Penedo said.

Experts stressed that these findings do not mean marriage alone can protect against cancer. (iStock)

The researchers also hypothesized that people who smoke less, drink less and take better care of themselves may be more likely to get married, meaning other factors could influence the findings.

More research is needed to confirm the outcome, they noted.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

The study was published in the journal Cancer Research Communications.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.

Health

This everyday drinking pattern could quietly raise liver disease risk

Published

18 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

This everyday drinking pattern could quietly raise liver disease risk

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

On the lookout

→ 5 key factors may predict stroke risk years after first event

→ Unexplained shoulder pain could signal dangerous health condition

→ Experts reveal hidden link between poor sleep and Alzheimer’s disease

Monica Deyanira Cabrera Barajas, 26, underwent a 20-minute extraction that turned into a high-stakes medical procedure. (Jam Press)

Conversation starters

→ Woman swallows nose ring, finds it traveled to her lungs

→ Divorce boom may follow use of Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs

→ Drug-soaked paper is killing inmates amid reports of prison smuggling

On the table

→ Popular food additive linked to higher health risks in adults over 60

→ One simple eating habit may help boost weight loss

→ Hospital food could be harming America’s sickest patients

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

This article was written by Fox News staff.

Health

Common vaccine slashes Alzheimer’s disease risk when dose is increased

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Common vaccine slashes Alzheimer’s disease risk when dose is increased

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A new, stronger flu shot could slash Alzheimer’s risk in half, according to new data.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), found that adults 65 and older who received a high-dose influenza vaccine had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who received the standard dose.

The immune system naturally weakens with age, making older adults less responsive to standard vaccines. To combat this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a high-dose flu vaccine for people over 65. This version is approximately four times stronger than the standard shot.

ONE TYPE OF OLIVE OIL HAS A SURPRISING EFFECT ON BRAINPOWER DURING AGING

Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older.

Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News senior medical contributor, weighed in on the impact of the flu shot on Alzheimer’s risk.

Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older. (iStock)

As the vaccine directly affects the immune system, it is possible that this interaction could decrease inflammation in the body and “thereby indirectly decrease Alzheimer’s risk,” Siegel, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.

“Flu shots and their components do not cross the blood-brain barrier, meaning they aren’t directly affecting brain cells.”

“We can’t conclude from this that it is the flu shot itself that causes the effect.”

“I was stunned that, as a physician, I didn’t know a higher dose was offered,” lead study author Paul Schulz, professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, said in a press release.

Schulz also led a previous study linking general flu vaccination to a 40% reduction in Alzheimer’s risk.

While the previous research had already linked general flu vaccination to a reduction in Alzheimer’s risk, this new study looked specifically at the strength of the dose.

POPULAR DIET TIED TO LOWER DEMENTIA RISK FOR SOME GROUPS, STUDY REVEALS

“The public health department had seen our vaccine research and asked if I could come down to talk to them about it,” said Schulz. “We went through the findings, and they asked if there was a difference with different dosages; I was confused.”

Adults who received the quadruple-strength vaccine had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who received the standard dose. (iStock)

After sorting through data from nearly 200,000 older adults, the team found the adults who received the high-dose vaccine had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who received the standard dose.

Adults in the high-dose group had an almost 55% lower risk than those who weren’t vaccinated, significantly outperforming standard-dose protection.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

The protective effect of the high-dose vaccine was even more pronounced in women compared to men, although both groups saw significant benefits.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

This study shows a link, not a cause, the researchers noted.

Experts can’t say for certain that the flu shot itself stopped Alzheimer’s because people who get high-dose vaccines might also have other healthy habits, like better diets or more frequent check-ups.

The study focused on people over 65, so it’s unclear whether getting these shots earlier in life would provide the same level of protection. (iStock)

The researchers also looked at medical records after the fact, rather than following two controlled groups in real time, which can sometimes result in missing information or biases.

“This is not a cause/effect study,” Siegel reiterated. “We can’t conclude that the flu shot itself causes the effect; it could be something about the people who decide to take this shot.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The study also focused on people over 65, so it’s unclear whether getting these shots earlier in life would provide the same level of protection.

“This needs to be further studied, but it is already certainly another reason to take a flu shot,” Siegel added.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

The study was published in the journal Neurology.

Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a range of story topics including food and drink, travel, and health.