Microgravity reshapes the bacteria–phage battle aboard the ISS

A study on the ISS shows that microgravity alters how bacteria and their phages interact: E. coli and phage T7 infect more slowly without convection, leading to distinct mutations in both organisms; space-evolved phages become better at binding and, when tested back on Earth, are more effective against certain UTI-causing E. coli—highlighting potential for phage therapies and astronaut health research, albeit with cost barriers to replicating microgravity experiments.