Understanding biofilms could help safeguard health of astronauts in space, study suggests
26 January 2026
A new study co-led by UCD suggests that a greater understanding of biofilms could be key to protecting human health during spaceflights.
Conducted by (opens in a new window)Professor Nicholas J. B. Brereton from the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, along with researchers from Maynooth University and the University of Glasgow, the study explored the role of biofilms on human and plant health during long-duration space travel.
A biofilm is a layer of bacteria or other microbes that grows on and sticks to the surface of a structure. Examples of biofilms include dental plaque and the slimy coating found on rocks in streams and rivers.
They have benefits for human health on Earth, such as preventing infections and breaking down complex carbohydrates during digestion. Biofilms can also help to protect plants from disease, as well as making it easier for them to access water and nutrients.
Spaceflight – and even spaceflight simulations on Earth – can alter biofilms’ architecture, gene regulation, signalling and stress tolerance.
However, it is not yet fully understood how biofilms react to stress during spaceflight, or how their functions are affected in space.
The researchers have suggested that a deeper knowledge of this could help to protect the health of astronauts on long missions, and have outlined a roadmap for better understanding how biofilms behave in space by applying advanced genetics and biochemical approaches.
Their findings have been published in the npj Biofilms and Microbiomes journal.
“The translation of value runs both ways,” said Professor Brereton.
“Spaceflight can reveal new biology under unfamiliar stress, and those insights can tell us a lot about how life might survive in space, but also inform approaches for health and agriculture on Earth.”
The researchers have called for shared, open biofilm studies that allow experiments across different space missions, so that findings can be turned into practical solutions more quickly.
“Biofilms are often considered from an infection viewpoint and treated as a problem to eliminate, but in reality they are the prevailing microbial lifestyle that supports healthy biological systems.” said Dr Katherine J. Baxter from the University of Glasgow, the study’s first author and coordinator of the UK Space Life and Biomedical Sciences Association.
“Spaceflight offers a distinctive and invaluable testbed for biofilm organisation and function, and, importantly, evidence so far makes it clear that biofilms need to be better understood, managed, and likely engineered to safeguard health during spaceflight.”
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
