Fermenting Miso in Space Gives It a Unique Flavor, Study Finds
An experiment to create the fermented soybean paste simultaneously here on Earth and aboard the International Space Station found that the space miso tasted intriguingly nuttier and more roasted than miso produced at the same time in the US and Denmark.
"Fermentation [on the ISS] illustrates how a living system at the microbial scale can thrive through the diversity of its microbial community, emphasizing the potential for life to exist in space," says industrial design scientist Maggie Coblentz of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"While the ISS is often seen as a sterile environment, our research shows that microbes and non-human life have agency in space, raising significant bioethical questions about removing plants and microbes from their home planet and introducing them to extraterrestrial environments."
Miso is a tasty, salty fermented paste used extensively in Japanese cuisine. It's made from steamed soybeans, salt, grains such as rice or barley, and kōji (Aspergillus oryzae), the fungus behind the miso fermentation process.
The team's experimental setup was pretty simple. The researchers prepared three batches of miso starter, then sent these batches to the three different locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Copenhagen; and low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station.
In the higher-radiation and microgravity environment of the ISS, the experimental batch fermented for 30 days, housed inside a specially designed sensing box that monitored temperature, humidity, pressure, light, and radiation.
Meanwhile, the Cambridge batch was housed in an identical box, but the Copenhagen batch was not. This allowed the Copenhagen batch to serve as a control to gauge whether the sensing box itself altered the fermentation process.
Once the 30-day fermentation process was complete, the miso was shuttled back home to Earth to be analyzed and compared to the two terrestrial control batches.
That analysis involved genome sequencing to study the microbe populations in the miso pastes, assessment of the physical properties such as texture and color, and an evaluation of the flavor profiles.
The space miso fermented successfully, but it was noticeably different from the Earth miso pastes.
The microbial communities in the space miso, for example, contained higher populations of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus warneri, possibly as a result of the warmer temperature on the space station. In addition, the bacterium Bacillus velezensis was only identified in the space miso.
As for the flavor of the three miso pastes, all had similar aroma compounds and amino acids, and the characteristic yummy salty flavor expected. However, the space miso was nuttier and more roasted in taste, the researchers found.
This flavor is associated with pyrazine compounds that probably emerged as a result of the higher ISS temperatures too, which would have accelerated the fermentation process.
It's a fascinating result that demonstrates the differences environmental tweaks can make on how life organizes itself, and how we might eat as we explore the stars – especially since our sense of taste is dulled in microgravity.
"By bringing together microbiology, flavor chemistry, sensory science, and larger social and cultural considerations, our study opens up new directions to explore how life changes when it travels to new environments like space," says food scientist Joshua Evans of the Technical University of Denmark.
"It could enhance astronaut well-being and performance, especially on future long-term space missions. More broadly, it could invite new forms of culinary expression, expanding and diversifying culinary and cultural representation in space exploration as the field grows."
The research has been published in iScience.
Rare Star Doomed to Explode Finally Confirms Astronomical Prediction
Tardigrades Reveal The Secret to Surviving The Extremes of Space
New NASA Space Telescope Unveils Its First-Ever Images
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
17 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
You'll live, die and repeat watching this Tom Cruise sci-fi action movie on Peacock this weekend
When looking for a movie to watch this weekend, look no further than "Edge of Tomorrow," which was just added to Peacock at the beginning of the month. Some movies, you have to be in the right mood to watch. Others, you need to have just the right home theater setup to enjoy. But this sci-fi action movie can be enjoyed anywhere, and it might just be Tom Cruise's last great performance in a movie that wasn't a sequel to one of his many other roles. I'm not being hyperbolic either when I say that this movie can be watched anywhere. The first time I watched it was on a plane, and I had a blast. To be fair, action movies are the perfect plane movies, but this movie is just as enjoyable in the comfort of your own home, too. I'm not the only one who loves "Edge of Tomorrow" either. While the movie arguably underwhelmed at the box office, bringing in just enough money for Hollywood accounting to still declare it a bust, thanks to a massive $178 million budget. But that spending paid off with critics and audiences alike — it scored a 91% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a nearly identical 90% from audiences. So if you're subscribed to Peacock, this is the movie to watch this weekend across all the best streaming services. It's one of the best action movies of the 2010s, and more importantly, it's just fun to watch. "Edge of Tomorrow" is based on the Japanese light novel "All You Need Is Kill." It's set in a near-future version of Earth, where an alien race known as "Mimics" has conquered most of continental Europe, forcing humanity to unite into a global military force, known as the United Defense Force (UDF). The UDF still struggles against the mimics, though, until Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) leads the UDF to victory at the Battle of Verdun. This sparks confidence in the UDF, which, led by General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), decides to invade France to reclaim the country. But when Brigham orders Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with no combat experience, to cover the invasion, the cowardly major tries to blackmail the general to avoid the dangerous assignment. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Peacock Premium offers hit original shows, NBCUniversal movies and live sports, all starting at $10.99 a month. That backfires spectacularly, with Cage now demoted to Private and forced to serve with the infantry in the invasion. The move is intended to get Cage killed, which it does, but not before he's bathed in the blood of an "Alpha" Mimic — causing him to awake back in England just before the invasion. At this point, the movie really begins, with Cruise stuck in an endless cycle of waking up, getting thrown into battle and getting killed. But he starts to improve with each death, as he retains the memories from his past lives even after his deaths. This is one of two things that make "Edge of Tomorrow" work. First, there is the action, which is well executed and well paced. The movie is just 113 minutes long, giving it little time to linger in one place too long, and despite being very heavy on the CGI, it looks good, including the combat between the CGI Mimics against humans in CGI battle suits. In another movie, this would have looked cheap at the time and aged terribly, but the time and money invested in this movie's visual effects still pays off to this day. But the other thing that makes this sci-fi movie work is that the time travel element is fun, a welcome plot device rather than a paradox-laden rabbit hole to dive into. I won't spoil exactly how the time loop functions, which is revealed later in the movie, but when you realize what's happening, you don't question whether or not it works or not you just strap yourself in for the rest of the ride. So go stream "Edge of Tomorrow" on Peacock now, and enjoy. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022 and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately:
Fox News
4 days ago
- Fox News
Russia and China tick Doomsday Clock toward midnight as Hiroshima bombing hits 80 years
Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of when the U.S. employed the first ever nuclear bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, followed by the bombing of Nagasaki three days later on Aug. 9. But despite nearly a century of lessons learned, nuclear warfare still remains a significant threat. "This is the first time that the United States is facing down two nuclear peer adversaries – Russia and China," Rebeccah Heinrichs, nuclear expert and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News Digital. Heinrichs explained that not only are Moscow and Beijing continuing to develop new nuclear capabilities and delivery systems, but they are increasingly collaborating with one another in direct opposition to the West, and more pointedly, the U.S. "It's a much more complex nuclear threat environment than what the United States even had to contend with during the Cold War, where we just had one nuclear peer adversary in the Soviet Union," she said. "In that regard, it's a serious problem, especially when both China and Russia are investing in nuclear capabilities and at the same time have revanchist goals." Despite the known immense devastation that would accompany an atomic war between two nuclear nations, concern has been growing that the threat of nuclear war is on the rise. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which collectively killed some 200,000 people, not including the dozens of thousands who later died from radiation poisoning and cancer – have been attributed with bringing an end to World War II. But the bombs did more than end the deadliest war in human history – they forever changed military doctrine, sparked a nuclear arms race and cemented the concept of deterrence through the theory of mutually assured destruction. Earlier this year the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved forward the "Doomsday Clock" by one second – pushing it closer to "midnight," or atomic meltdown, than ever before. In January, the board of scientists and security officials in charge of the 78-year-old clock, which is used to measure the threat level of nuclear warfare, said that moving the clock to 89 seconds to midnight "signals that the world is on a course of unprecedented risk, and that continuing on the current path is a form of madness." Despite the escalated nuclear threats coming out of North Korea, and international concern over the Iranian nuclear program, the threat level largely came down to the three biggest players in the nuclear arena: Russia, the U.S. and China. The increased threat level was attributed to Russia's refusal to comply with international nuclear treaties amid its continuously escalating war in Ukraine and its hostile opposition to NATO nations, as well as China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal. But the Bulletin, which was founded by scientists on the Manhattan Project in 1945 to inform the public of the dangers of atomic warfare, also said the U.S. has a role in the increased nuclear threat level. "The U.S. has abdicated its role as a voice of caution. It seems inclined to expand its nuclear arsenal and adopt a posture that reinforces the belief that 'limited' use of nuclear weapons can be managed," the Bulletin said. "Such misplaced confidence could have us stumble into a nuclear war." But Heinrichs countered the "alarmist" message and argued that deterrence remains a very real protectant against nuclear warfare, even as Russia increasingly threatens Western nations with atomic use. "I do think that it's a serious threat. I don't think it's inevitable that we're sort of staring down nuclear Armageddon," she said. Heinrichs argued the chief threat is not the number of nuclear warheads a nation possesses, but in how they threaten to employ their capabilities. "I think that whenever there is a threat of nuclear use, it's because adversaries, authoritarian countries, in particular Russia, is threatening to use nuclear weapons to invade another country. And that's where the greatest risk of deterrence failure is," she said. "It's not because of the sheer number of nuclear weapons." Heinrichs said Russia is lowering the nuclear threshold by routinely threatening to employ nuclear weapons in a move to coerce Western nations to capitulate to their demands, as in the case of capturing territory in Ukraine and attempting to deny it NATO access. Instead, she argued that the U.S. and its allies need to improve their deterrence by not only staying on top of their capabilities but expanding their nuclear reach in regions like the Indo-Pacific. "The answer is not to be so afraid of it or alarmed that you capitulate, because you're only going to beget more nuclear coercion if you do that," she said. "The answer is to prudently, carefully communicate to the Russians they are not going to succeed through nuclear coercion, that the United States also has credible response options. "We also have nuclear weapons, and we have credible and proportional responses, and so they shouldn't go down that path," Heinrichs said. "That's how we maintain the nuclear peace. That's how we deter conflict. And that's how we ensure that a nuclear weapon is not used."
UPI
5 days ago
- UPI
Rocket Lab launches Japanese radar satellite
Rocket lab launched a synthetic aperture radar satellite dubbed QPS-SAR-12 for the Japanese company IQS on Tuesday morning apart of a mission to build their constellation in low Earth Orbit. Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Rocket Lab launched a synthetic aperture radar satellite dubbed QPS-SAR-12 for the Japanese company IQS on Tuesday morning, part of a mission to build its constellation in low Earth Orbit. The mission "The Harvest Goddess Thrives" lifted off from Rocket Lab's launch complex 1 at the New Zealand site at 12:10 a.m. EDT. The deployed satellite went into circular orbit 357 miles above Earth after about 54 minutes, Rocket Lab said on X. "Every Electron launch is a demonstration of payload deployment precision for our customers -- an especially critical element when scaling satellite constellations," Rocket Lab Founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said in a press release. Today's fifth and flawless deployment for iQPS once again underscores Electron's reliability and continues to prove that consistent tailored access to space is a reality for Electron for our customers." "The data gathered by QPS-SAR constellation has the potential to revolutionize industries and reshape the future," Rocket Lab wrote in the mission's press release. "The Harvest Goddess Thrvies" is Rocket Lab's 11th Electron Mission this year and 69th launch overall.
