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

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

_Bacillus subtilis_ produces near-indestructible spores. Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc./Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SAA 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 b…