From Yellowstone Hot Springs to Grocery Stores: NASA-Funded Microbe Becomes Vegan Protein Source

First, a particular type of microbe evolved in an acidic hot spring.

Fast-forward millions of years, when a geomicrobiologist finds this type of microbe in Yellowstone National Park while conducting NASA-funded research on organisms that thrive under extreme conditions.

Now you can buy a protein grown from the organism in grocery stores in the form of vegan breakfast patties and cream cheese.

It's also growing in space, where astronauts are studying it as a possible protein source for long-duration missions.

And it's informing a project to introduce sustainable fungal proteins to low- and moderate-income communities.