IMAGE:NASA's Rodent Habitat module is shown with both access doors open. view more
Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart
Imagine if all of your physiological changes were hyper accelerated so that you passed through life cycles in weeks as opposed to decades. You'd be able to grow a beard overnight or your hair might begin graying in a matter of days or maybe menopause would come knocking by next weekend. This may seem like a far stretch from reality, but spaceflight causes significant physiological changes including an accelerated loss of muscle and bone density, and immune system dysfunction that parallel the effects of natural aging here on Earth. This makes the International Space Station (ISS) is an ideal place for scientists to conduct research on aging at a "space-aged" pace.
One of the several investigations that are part of the second rodent research mission, Rodent Research-2 will focus on the age-old phenomenon of aging. This research, sponsored by Novartis Biomedical Research Institute, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is slated to launch to the space station via SpaceX-6. Researchers will use the study to analyze how spaceflight and exposure to the microgravity environment impacts a model organism's musculoskeletal system.
Studying the disease mechanisms of muscle wasting and bone loss, which are associated with both spaceflight and aging, can provide greater insight into these processes and help to identify potential new drug targets and develop new therapeutics for other conditions as well. Advanced treatments for diseases like osteoporosis, muscular dystrophy, cancer, spinal cord injury, and kidney failure could all be developed through valuable data gained through this investigation and subsequent studies.
The musculoskeletal system is made up of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and joints. This biological system is greatly affected by the aging process and certain diseases, as well as spaceflight. Researchers anticipate that the science conducted on the space station will provide insight into molecular variations induced by spaceflight, and can applied to our knowledge of similar changes on Earth.
The ISS National Lab is now equipped with specialized hardware, like the Bone Densitometer Locker. This facility, which launched with the previous rodent research mission, allows scientists to gather data in real time. Researchers will track numerous data points from the mice test subjects, including gene expression, various biomarkers from several biological systems, and molecular changes within musculoskeletal tissues.
A second part of the Rodent Research-2 study is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX-7 and will include three separate investigations sponsored by NASA. Michael Pecaut, Ph.D., of Loma Linda University is the principal investigator for a study of the effects of spaceflight on immune system function. Michael Delp, Ph.D., of Florida State University, is the principal investigator for a study of spaceflight-induced changes in the structure of the blood-brain barrier. Data from a third study of the effect of spaceflight on liver metabolism and gene expression will be shared with the scientific community via GeneLab, NASA's new open access system for sharing of genomics data gained from research in space. NASA's Ames Research Center is responsible for carrying out all of the CASIS and NASA-funded science on this mission.
Collaboration between other government agencies and commercial entities, facilitated by CASIS and NASA, are helping to maximize the research capabilities of the ISS National Lab for the benefit of Earth.
We may still have to wait years to experience our own aging--which is likely a good thing--but thanks to space station research we may have help for treating those age-related challenges through the accelerated knowledge gained through studies like Rodent Research-2.
Read the original:
'Space-age' research looks to provide new human health insights
- Fermi Telescope Caps First Year With Glimpse of Space-Time - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Antarctic Airborne Science Mission Nears Mid-Point - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards Education Research Grants to Minority Universities - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New Celestial Map Gives Directions for GPS - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Invites Reporters to Tranquility Node Ceremony at Kennedy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Happy Halloween - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA's Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma-Ray From "Star Factories" in Other Galaxies - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Announces Advisory Council Chairs and Committee Structure - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA and X Prize Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- MESSENGER Spacecraft Reveals More Hidden Territory on Mercury - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Successful Flight Through Enceladus Plume - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Education Secretary Hosts DC Students for Talk with Space Station - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Operation Ice Bridge Studies Antarctic Sea Ice - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA West Point Welcomes Home One of Their Heroes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Spitzer Observes a Chaotic Planetary System - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- X-38 Crew Return Vehicle Finds New Home - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Frost-Covered Phoenix Lander Seen in Winter Images - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Have some faith He is doing his best - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Cross - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spring Bloom in New Zealand Waters - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Hubble image showcases star birth in M83, the Southern Pinwheel - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Take Me Out to the Ballpark - On Mars! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Poisk Poised for Live NASA TV Space Station Docking - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ceremony Reset for ESA Handover of Tranquility to NASA - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Reproduces a Building Block of Life in Laboratory - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Now Online: Aeronautics Goes E-Book - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Water on the Moon, Drought on Earth: NASA Experts Available for Radio And Podcast Interviews During Major Science Meeting - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Launch of NASA's Wise Spacecraft Delayed Until Dec. 14 - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Connecticut Students Set for Cosmic Conversation with Space Station Commander - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Magnetic Dance of Titan and Saturn To Be Main Attraction during Flyby - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Hubble's Deepest View of Universe Unveils Never-Before-Seen Galaxies - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Earth's Moon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- How do you Make a Helicopter Safer to Fly? You Crash One. - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Physicist Earns Title as Kennedy's Best - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hubble Unveils Never-Before-Seen Galaxies - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Saturn's Mysterious Hexagon Emerges from Winter Darkness - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Fermi Sees Brightest-Ever Blazar Flare - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Magnetic Power Revealed in Gamma-Ray Burst Jet - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Just 5 Questions: Aerosols - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hometown Heroes 2009: Astronaut & Terrible Towel Return to Pittsburgh - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Garver Honors Four for Saving the Life of a Fifth at NASA Langley - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Administrator Bolden Speaks at AAIA-WIA Luncheon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Best (Meteor) Shower of 2009 - No Towel Required - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Making Government More Accessible With Cutting-Edge Use Of New Media - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Scarce Water, Our Quiet Sun and Space Rocks Among NASA News Highlights at American Geophysical Union Meeting - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Press Credentials Deadlines Set for Next Space Shuttle Flight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Reddish Dust and Ice Migration Darken Saturn's Moon Iapetus - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Galaxy Collision Switches on Black Hole - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- I’m watching the launch of NASA’s WISE spacecraft - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- SOFIA Aloft - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Guide to the International Space Station Laboratory Racks Interactive - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Freezing WISE's Hydrogen - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Local High School Wins Invention Challenge - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Ready to Soar Into Space - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- NASA Data Reveal Major Groundwater Loss in California's Heartland - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Looks for Safer Icing Forecast For Pilots - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- Challenges of Living and Working Aboard the Space Station: NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott Available for TV Interviews - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Astronaut, Food Scientist Available for Interviews about Holiday Feasts in Space - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Launches Web Site for Teenagers That Want More Class - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- A Unique Geography -- and Soot and Dust -- Conspire Against Himalayan Glaciers - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New Study Turns Up the Heat on Soot's Role in Himalayan Warming - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- NASA's WISE Eye on the Universe Begins All-Sky Survey Mission - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Offers Sound Clips for Radio, Online Newscasters - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Gets Up-Close Look at Far Corner of the Globe - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Orion Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor Test-fired - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Hubble Finds Smallest Kuiper Belt Object Ever Seen - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- The Dark Side of Carbon - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- R97UYEA6HD8W - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- NASA's AIM Satellite and Models are Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious "Night-Shining" Clouds - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Classroom Learning Takes Off with NASA-Funded Education Projects - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Buys Additional Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Searching for New Vaccines and Studying Butterflies in Space; NASA Offers TV Interviews about Latest Space Station Science Research - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Partners with Saudi Arabia on Moon and Asteroid Research - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- New Results from a Terra-ific Decade in Orbit - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Deposits in Martian Trough Point to Complex Hydrological Past - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Outlines Recent Greenhouse Gas Research - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Unexpected Wheel-Test Results - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Solar Storms and Radiation Exposure on Commercial Flights - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Global Digital Elevation Model - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]
- Hubble's Festive View of a Grand Star-Forming Region - December 17th, 2009 [December 17th, 2009]