EARTH SURROUNDED BY BACTERIA AT 33,000 FEET

I WONDER WHAT WE'D FIND EVEN HIGHER THAN THAT?
POPULAR SCIENCE, NOT A FAVORITE OF MINE BECAUSE OF THEIR POLITICAL AGENDA AND LEFT-LEANING THAT OFTEN INTERFERES WITH HONEST REPORTING (JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION) HAD A SHORT LITTLE ARTICLE ON THIS BACK IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.
THE ARTICLE POINTS OUT THAT THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF OXYGEN AND ALSO VERY FRIGID CONDITIONS AT 33,000 FEET, BUT THEY FOUND AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF BACTE3RIA UP THERE USING NASA AIRCRAFT AND COLLECTING FROM DIFFERENT SPOTS.
E-COLI WAS JUST ONE OF THE BACTERIA FOUND.
HUFFINGTON POST WAS THE ONLY MAINSTREAM MEDIA I FOUND THAT BOTHERED TO PICK THIS ARTICLE UP AND BARELY EXPANDED ON IT, SO FEW WILL KNOW OF THIS DISCOVERY, AND, LIKELY, FEWER WILL CARE.

BUT WE SHOULD CARE.
"We did not expect to find so many microorganisms in the troposphere, which is considered a difficult environment for life," said Kostas Konstantinidis, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech. "We have demonstrated that our technique works, and that we can get some interesting information. A big fraction of the atmospheric particles that traditionally would have been expected to be dust or sea salt may actually be bacteria. At this point we are just seeing what's up there, so this is just the beginning of what we hope to do."
The team found that the types of bacteria corresponded to the environment at sea level. If the team was flying above the sea, it tended to find marine bacteria. Above land, it found bacteria familiar to land environments.

SO, DO WE GET "BACTERIA RAIN"?
IS THIS ONE WAY THAT ILLNESS HOPS FROM CONTINENT TO CONTINENT?
WELL, WHO REALLY CARES, RIGHT?

Here is the entire paper, for those who do not have access:
http://www.viewdocsonline.com/document/syrcj0

AS ONE PERSON COMMENTED:
"its even used in decontaminating radioactive waste."
WITH FUKUSHIMA STILL PUMPING OUT TOXINS, THAT WOULD BE NICE, EH? ANOTHER THOUGHT:
"This type of knowledge could assist in long range space travel. One of the primary problems, stated in the NASA Technologist AMA, with space travel was surviving radiation. I would think bacteria would be logistically easier to travel with than the amount of water that would be required to block the same amount of radiation. "
ANOTHER THINKER WROTE:
"what i had in mind, to live up there they must have some way to resist that nearly non-stop barrage of UV radiation. Learning about it could be useful."
YES, THAT WOULD BE VERY USEFUL INFORMATION AND A GREAT STUDY, BUT....WHY MAKE ANY PROGRESS WHEN WE CAN JUST SIT HERE AND DENY THE NEED FOR THAT?

STILL, I DO WONDER WHAT'S AT 50,000, 100,000 FEET UP THERE...WHAT'S ALIVE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION'S ORBIT? THE MOON'S?

FROM INSIDE A HUMAN GUT AND ALL OVER OUR SKIN SURFACES, DOWN TO THE DEEP BLUE SEA, AND NOW OUT INTO OUR UPPER ATMOSPHERE, BACTERIA PLAY AMAZING ROLLS INHUMAN LIFE, ALL LIFE ON EARTH.
ACTUALLY, HUMAN LIFE WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT SOME BACTERIA.
SOME ARE 'FRIENDS', OTHERS 'FOES', SO IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO FIND OUT MORE?

WELL, BACK TO THE OLYMPICS, YES?



OTHER RESOURCES NOT LISTED ABOVE:

http://www.reddit.com/comments/1gq9ux