Initial tests looking for "markers" on the surface of the bacterium showed it to be the O104 strain, which the World Health Organization said was rare, had been seen in humans before, but never in an outbreak.

BBC: Q&A: E. coli outbreak

While it will probably take at least another 20 years before Zubrin -- or anyone else for that matter -- makes it to the Martian surface, NASA and other space agencies are already drawing up plans for a voyage that will present astronauts not only with physical but also psychological challenges never faced by humans before.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, told the BBC that the idea had been discussed repeatedly but "experiments have never come close to suggesting it might work in humans".

BBC: Stem cell op may 'restore sperm'

The problem with this is that humans never saw the hive for what it was, but, rather, as evidence for their own prejudice and beliefs.

ECONOMIST: Bees

Humans may never have the ability to change into the Incredible Hulk when angry, but donning one of these may soon make the robotic gear in scenes from Alien and Iron Man seem less like science fiction fantasy and more like a new world of enhanced abilities for everyone.

FORBES: Coming Soon: Amazing Superpowers For The Masses