Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Space Changes You
937 Space, It Changes You
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr David Niesel.
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog
We’re used to having our NASA astronauts be highly conditioned and trained, but what about people like you and me? With commercial space travel now available, that’s a reality.
It raises the question of space travel’s impact on human health. New studies reveal even short space trips take a toll on the body.
Scientists studied data collected from the first all-civilian crew of the Inspiration-four mission. They spent three days in orbit over three-hundred-fifty miles above the earth, about a hundred miles higher than the International Space Station.
This crew consisted of two men and two women between the ages of twenty nine and fifty-one. While in space, they collected saliva, urine, feces and blood samples, took ultrasounds and cognitive tests, and wore fitness trackers.
They found that three days in space was enough to alter their health and cognition. Genes associated with immune system activation, especially in repairing DNA damage, were more active.
There was disruption to the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. And the ends of chromosomes, the telomeres, lengthened most likely to protect cells from the radiation exposure in space.
The epigenome in DNA, which impacts how certain genes express, saw changes, especially in the immune cells.
Although most of the changes reverted back to normal upon return to earth, some persisted for 3 months afterward. As trips to the moon and Mars become more feasible, we’ll need to know how to keep our astronauts and space tourists healthy in space.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
