[NerdDad]

So, is this a bacteria with which a human can be infected? Cuz I have this athlete's foot problem that I simply cannot make go away. (He said, making a lame attempt at humor). Actually, it does sound like a nasty bug one would be interested in closely controlling access to.

[petuniasevan]

Depends on your definition of "infected". Are the bacteria doing you any harm? The one causing your athlete's foot is; the one that makes vitamin B-12 in your gut certainly is not. Your skin is populated by colonies of bacteria (wash all you like; they're still there) that help keep harmful bacteria at bay.

I'm supposing that since the D. rad bacterium has been isolated in animal tissues and dung, and in granite from Antarctica, it's everywhere. And it probably does no harm unless it spoils food thought to be sterilized. That's how it was discovered in the first place.

[RightWhale]

it does sound like a nasty bug

Maybe not. A bacterium that thrives inside solid granite might die instantly upon exposure to air. It's all a matter of habitat, niche. Beside which, we have been coexisting with these bacteria for a very long time, so that eating one of them would not be a new experience.