Beating bacteria on Earth—and in space

By sheer strength of numbers, bacteria are by far the most successful life form on Earth. As we've learned over the past several decades of human spaceflight, they don't do too badly in microgravity either. For evidence, just look back on the astronauts and cosmonauts who were stricken with infections during their flights. At home, we have long-established and usually effective antibiotic treatments against most harmful bacteria. But previous studies have shown that in space, bacteria can survive and thrive in what would be fatal drug concentrations for them back on Earth. How is that possible?

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