Human corpses can incubate the germ of life in the universe

Scientists believe that astronauts' dead bodies in the universe during the mission can promote life on other planets under appropriate conditions.

Human corpses can transmit bacteria and act as catalysts for life if not burned into ash in the air during a falling planet, Gary King, bacteriologist At the University of Louisiana, USA, said in an interview published on Astronomy page on October 24. According to King, bacteria on human bodies can survive in space, especially in planets like Mars.

With years of research on microbial life in extreme environments, King said that this organism could survive under harsh conditions in the universe. " We used to sample bacteria from the permafrost and talk about biological organisms that still live after about a million years in a state of fake death," King said.

Picture 1 of Human corpses can incubate the germ of life in the universe
The astronaut can bring bacteria to another planet and germinate life.(Artwork: Alamy).

"Especially if the trip to somewhere near Mars, bacterial spores on the human body will surely survive. Bacteria without spores can also survive. I'm thinking of Deinococcus radioduran s , the species of bacteria can live at very low water levels with a high amount of ion radiation, "said Astronomy King.

Successful transport of bacteria depends on three factors: protecting the body, storing the body and the time of the body. The body must be wrapped inside a spacecraft or some other means to protect bacteria in the journey through the atmosphere. For them to spread after landing, the ship needs cracks.

In addition, bacteria containing bacteria should be stored at temperatures above freezing or in freeze-dried conditions. The second condition is much more feasible because researchers consider the universe to be basically like a dry freezer.

Bacteria are also more likely to survive if they are in the solar system, because the longer they float in the universe, the more exposed the human body is to the larger amount of cosmic radiation. Journey to other star systems such as Proxima Centauri will significantly limit radiation survivability that can mutate in DNA and RNA."But if you only need one of the many bacteria on the body that survived the flight, it still has the possibility , " King said.

Even if all bacteria die when human bodies float in the universe, they can still lead to the birth of a new life if conditions are perfect. If the corpse landed on a planet that contained several basic molecules, such as a molecule carrying triphosphates, it could promote life.

"The molecules from astronauts' decomposing corpses are able to provide a premise for a new kind of life if the environmental conditions for life are nearly perfect, only a few raw materials or raw density "It's too low," said Jack Szostack, a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist at Harvard Medical School.