That article is so low on detail! There's basically just this statement:<p>> Study findings indicate under stress, the ISS isolated strains were mutated and became genetically and functionally distinct compared to their Earth counterparts. The strains were able to viably persist in the ISS over time with a significant abundance. E. bugandensis coexisted with multiple other microorganisms, and in some cases could have helped those organisms survive.<p>The bacteria changed (how, why, can we see?), they survived in space (plainly the <i>original</i> bacteria also survived long enough to evolve), and possibly adapted/coexisted with other (unnamed) microorganisms.<p>And then they were brought back to earth to be studied.... That too surely impacts the study of 'bacteria in space'.