Summary from elsewhere
The International Space Station (|SS) has low microbial diversity, which could lead to astronaut health issues, according to a study published in Cell.
Researchers found that the microbial communities resemble those found in sanitized environments like hospitals rather than natural settings.
Co-senior study author Pieter Dorrestein explains that increasing microbial exposure could improve astronaut health during long-term space travel.
The study suggests incorporating natural elements, like soil, into the ISS to enhance microbial diversity and astronaut well-being.
The study in question:
Microbial diversity in relation to space travel seems like such a huge issue to think about but no one talks about it that much it seems. I’ve been thinking recently that the most dangerous thing about any aliens making first contact by just landing in a field somewhere would be the pathogens we would exchange immediately. It’s the pivotal moment in War of the Worlds, for instance, and I can’t see any way to avoid it. I did suddenly realise recently, talking about that movie, that although everyone was completely on board with the aliens dying from our bugs, no one questioned why their bugs didn’t kill us too?
My understanding of the lore is that Martians got so good at fighting pathogens, they eradicated all of them, which lead to their immune systems gradually weakening over generations.
Oh yeah! I think I remember that now. So that explains why we can’t catch stuff from them cos they haven’t got anything to pass on.
To be honest: I don’t think that’s much of a problem (unless…). The pathogens on earth are all adapted to attack (if you want to use this verb on a cellular level) us and others on earth. They would most likely not pose a threat to any other lifeforms that have evolved on other planets, unless our way of evolution is the only one which is able to produce life. And that is a big unless, because apart from the panspermia theory (life came to us with a meteor) there is no reason to assume that life has to work the same way it does for us.
Time travel interactions however, those could be a problem
The main issue to conquer once we are able to go back, is how to go back without dieing or killing off a significant fraction of our ancestors, creating temporal paradox.
I can think of a way to avoid it. And it’s obviously a better first contact scenario when you think about it. It’s simple, when you arrive at a planet for first contact, don’t make it on the planet, make it at the largest space station found in orbit.
You can literally make contact in space suits, in space. If initial contact goes well and their required atmospheres (and necessary atmospheric pressure) are compatible, you can make further contact in the station, limiting the spread of any possible contamination.
Additional benefit: first contact will be made with scientists and engineers, not with politicians or nut jobs.
I had a dream last night that aliens arrived in huge ships and just started blasting us from on high like they were just disinfecting the planet. It was quite vivid and reminded me that this is probably the most likely scenario lol