Nathaniel Martin in de Volkskrant about toilets in space
German scientists and NASA have developed a bacteria-killing coating for space toilets. With this coating they hope to protect astronauts in space stations from pathogens. Professor of Biological chemistry Nathaniel Martin sheds light on the discovery: 'You don't expect nasty bacteria up there, but it can't hurt to experiment.’
Stronger bacteria?
Due to the lack of gravity, bacteria on a space station can be stronger than on Earth. The developed bactericidal coating serves to protect astronauts from this health hazard. Martin nuances the hazard mentioned by the researchers. Since the bacteria found in the space station are not resistant to all types of antibiotics, that danger is not too great, he states. ‘Most of the species found also live on human skin. They found nothing unexpected', says Martin in the article.
In de media
Read the entire article in de Volkskrant (only in Dutch). The website Foodlog also paid attention to the article: