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Podcast: Travelers In The Night
Episode: 362E-394-Tiny Beasts
Description: Humans have a long history of partnerships with a variety of micro organisms. Although the proportions vary widely with individuals, recent scientific estimates suggest that a typical human being has approximately the same number of bacteria and other microbes as they do actual human cells. Now it appears that a partnership with yeast and algae will enable spacefaring humans to use their waste products to produce food and plastics during long duration space flights. Dr. Mark Blenner of Clemson University leads a research group developing strains of yeast which obtain their nitrogen from untreated urine and their carbon dioxide from...