The Andromeda Strain...

[GoSlash27]

Just posting this because it hasn't been discussed yet.

Say we send up a probe to collect interstellar dust/ samples/ whatever. And it comes back with something really bad. Maybe a virus or an invasive species of space amoeba.

It wouldn't even have to be detrimental to humans to cause our extinction. Anything involved in our food chain or basic chemistry could be a calamity for all human life.

What precautions would be adequate IYO to guard against inadvertently bringing back a virulent space bug?

-Slashy

[theend3r]

An infectious organism coming from somewhere where there's nothing to infect? Seem very unlikely so adequate precautions would be none. Still, I think they handle the samples using at least hermetical containers opened only at labs that are designed to contain anything that could escape, so no worries there.

[qeveren]

Considering that Earth is absolutely covered in hungry, carbon-based self-replicators, I'd probably feel worse for the poor space bugs than I would about said space bugs being a threat.

[jfull]

Yeah, why would there be viruses in space unless there was also a host species living in space?

also, in all likelyhood, earth life would be a toxic environment to alien microorganisms.

Edited July 6, 2014 by jfull

[Boomerang]

Like others have said, this is pretty much firmly in the realm of science fiction. Of course there could be strange things that we don't have any understanding of, but failing to understand how something like that could exist kinda precludes us from being able to prevent it being spread. At least beyond the usual clean-room procedures that would otherwise serve to prevent the returned samples from Earthbound contamination.

I just think it would be very difficult for a space-bug that was somehow chemically/biologically similar enough to us to not only infect humans but produce wide-spread havoc and be able to A: Survive in interplanetary/interstellar space and B: Be able to spread and kill in any more of a unique/deadly fashion than anything we already have on Earth.

[magnemoe]

Like others have said, this is pretty much firmly in the realm of science fiction. Of course there could be strange things that we don't have any understanding of, but failing to understand how something like that could exist kinda precludes us from being able to prevent it being spread. At least beyond the usual clean-room procedures that would otherwise serve to prevent the returned samples from Earthbound contamination.

I just think it would be very difficult for a space-bug that was somehow chemically/biologically similar enough to us to not only infect humans but produce wide-spread havoc and be able to A: Survive in interplanetary/interstellar space and B: Be able to spread and kill in any more of a unique/deadly fashion than anything we already have on Earth.

Yes, now surviving in space as a spore might be possible but not sure about the millions years needed to get inn from another star.

But yes an infection has be based on life very similar to life on earth. Far more than required to simply eat an earth animal.

Far more likely that an earth bacteria mutate, this too is rare, yes its plenty of diseases but rarely some who wipe out species.

[Guest]

It's probably more likely we'll infect something.

[GoSlash27]

Yes, now surviving in space as a spore might be possible but not sure about the millions years needed to get inn from another star.

But yes an infection has be based on life very similar to life on earth. Far more than required to simply eat an earth animal.

Far more likely that an earth bacteria mutate, this too is rare, yes its plenty of diseases but rarely some who wipe out species.

This is what I was thinking. Any bacteria we're liable to encounter in our neck of the woods would almost certainly have originally come from Earth. It wouldn't have to be "alien" in order to be something we haven't seen before.