Germs taken into space can come back meaner than before

HITCHHIKER: Wherever humans go, germs are along for the ride.

POWERFUL: Scientists sent salmonella on a space shuttle and found that it killed mice in space more quickly than initially identical germs on earth.

CHANGES: Researchers found 167 genes had changed in the salmonella that went to space, possibly due to a force called fluid shear.

September 24, 2007 - 4:24 p.m. Copyright 2007, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Who knew the AP had a sense of writing style.