3 Days in Space Were Enough to Change 4 Astronauts’ Bodies and Minds – The New York Times

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Space changes you, even during short trips off the planet.

Four people who spent three days off Earth in September 2021 experienced physical and mental changes that included modest declines in cognitive tests, stressed immune systems and genetic changes within their cells, scientists report in a package of papers published on Tuesday in the journal Nature and several other related journals.

Almost all of what changed in the astronauts returned to normal after they splashed down on Earth. None of the alterations appeared to pose a showstopping caution for future space travelers. But the results also highlighted how little medical researchers know.

Christopher Mason, a professor of genomics, physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and one of the leaders of the research, called the collection of papers and data the most in-depth examination weve ever had of a crew as he spoke during a news conference on Monday.

The four astronauts traveled on a mission, known as the Inspiration4, which was the first trip to orbit where not one of the crew members was a professional astronaut. Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, led the mission. Instead of bringing friends along, he recruited three travelers who represented a wider swath of society: Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant who survived cancer during her childhood; Sian Proctor, a community college professor who teaches geoscience; and Christopher Sembroski, an engineer.

The Inspiration4 crew members consented to participating in medical experiments collecting samples of blood, urine, feces and saliva during their flight and to allowing the data to be cataloged in an online archive known as the Space Omics and Medical Atlas, or SOMA, which is publicly available.

Although the data is anonymous, that does not provide much privacy because there were only four crew members on Inspiration4. You could probably figure out who is who, actually, Dr. Proctor said in an interview.

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3 Days in Space Were Enough to Change 4 Astronauts' Bodies and Minds - The New York Times

Spatially resolved multiomics on the neuronal effects induced by spaceflight in mice – Nature.com

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To identify specific cellular microenvironments affected by spaceflight, we combined the techniques of spatial transcriptomics (ST; 10X Genomics Visium) and single-nucleus multiomics (snMultiomics; gene expression and chromatin accessibility; 10 Genomics Single Cell Multiome ATAC+Gene Expression) on mouse brain. In total, we analyzed three brains from mice euthanized on-board of the International Space Station (ISS; F1, F2, F3) and three brains from ground control mice (G1, G2, G3) that were kept under matched conditions (see Animals in Methods). For each sample, we isolated nuclei from one hemisphere for snMultiomics analysis and cryo-sectioned the other hemisphere for ST analysis with the focus on the hippocampal region (Fig.1).

Overview of the study workflow where brains from International Space Station (ISS; Flight mice) and ground control mouse groups (Ground control mice) were split into the two hemispheres for Spatial Gene Expression Analysis (Spatial Transcriptomics or ST) and Single Nuclei Multiomics analysis (snMultiomics).

As a first step, we ensured that the morphological and RNA quality of the samples was suitable for our experimental workflow given that the spaceflown samples had undergone a specific preservation approach17, which was also used for the corresponding ground control animals (see Animals in Methods). We measured the RNA integrity number (RIN) for each sample and found that it was 9.15 on average (Supplementary Fig.1A). Furthermore, we performed a tissue optimization experiment confirming that both RNA integrity and tissue morphology was of sufficient quality for ST analysis (see Visium Spatial Gene Expression technology and sequencing in Methods; Supplementary Fig.1B).

To dissect the alterations induced by spaceflight at the single-nucleus level, we performed a snMultiomics analysis on hemispheres of three spaceflown (F1, F2, F3) mice and two out of three ground controls (G2, G3), obtaining RNA expression profiles (RNA-seq) and chromatin accessibility (ATAC-seq) information from the same nucleus.

In total, we isolated 21,178 nuclei across the spaceflight and control samples with an average of 3140 unique transcripts (Unique Molecular Identifier or UMI) per nucleus (i.e., from snRNA-seq) and 9217 peaks per nucleus (i.e., from snATAC-seq) (Fig.2A, B; Supplementary Fig.1C) and an overall high gene expression correlation between the spaceflight and ground control samples (r=0.95, p<0.05; Fig.2C). By integrating snRNASeq and snATAC-seq data and performing a joint clustering analysis, we identified 18 snMultiomics clusters (Fig.2D; Supplementary Fig.2).

A Distribution of UMIs per nucleus in the entire snRNA-seq dataset. nUMI/nuclei: number of UMIs detected in each nuclei. B Distribution of peaks per nucleus in the entire snATAC-seq dataset. nPeaks/nuclei: number of peaks detected per nuclei in the multiomics dataset. C Correlation between flight (y-axis) and ground control (x-axis) single nuclei multiomics samples (Pearsons correlation coefficient, r=0.95; p<0.05) shown as a scatter plot. This is a two-sided Pearson correlation test with 95% confidence intervals performed on the average expression (log(1+avgUMI)). avgUMI: average UMI counts per spot. D UMAP of single nuclei multiomics data and cluster annotations. E 11 functional multiomics clusters categories represented by their marker genes. F Distribution of UMIs per spot for the whole spatial transcriptomics (ST) dataset. nUMI/spot: number of UMIs detected per spot in the ST dataset. G Distribution of unique genes per spot for the whole spatial transcriptomics (ST) dataset. nGenes/spot: number of genes detected per spot in the ST dataset. H Correlation between flight (y-axis) and ground control (x-axis) ST samples (Pearsons correlation coefficient, r=0.99; p<0.05) shown as a scatter plot. This is a two-sided Pearson correlation test with 95% confidence intervals performed on the average expression (log(1+avgUMI)). avgUMI: average UMI counts per spot.

Next, we leveraged previously reported marker genes in the literature (see Gene and cluster annotation in Methods for details) to identify 11 macro categories for the 18 snMultiomics clusters (interchangeably referred to as multiomics clusters in the next sections) according to their functions (Fig.2E; Supplementary Data1, 2). The majority of clusters were related to neurogenesis, neuronal activity and synaptic transmission, distinguished by differences in neurotransmitters (GABAergic, glutamatergic, dopaminergic) and based on gene expression patterns, tentatively associated with neuronal locations in hypothalamus, striatum, cortex and hippocampus.

We identified a total of 825 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between spaceflown and ground control samples across all multiomics clusters (Supplementary Data3). The majority of these 825 DEGs were involved in neuronal development (multiomics clusters 9, 11), axonal or dendritic outgrowth (multiomics cluster 9), and synaptic transmission (multiomics cluster 4), including specifically GABAergic synaptic transmission (multiomics cluster 11).

Comparison of 825 spaceflight multiomics DEGs to the 629 significant DEGs (Spaceflight vs Ground Control; p-value<0.05) from the bulk RNAseq data of the same mice brains from the same NASA mission (RR-3), indicated 11 shared genes (p-value=0.01582549, hypergeometric distribution test; see Gene overlap test in Methods; Supplementary Data4). Out of these 11 overlapping genes, only 2 genes (Gabra6, and Kctd16) showed the same directional change in both the datasets indicating that the majority of spaceflight effects are cell type-specific and emphasizing the need for cell-specific analysis of central nervous system responses to spaceflight.

We also compared these 825 spaceflight DEGs with spaceflight DEGs reported in a total of 11 other datasets processed by NASA OSDR including mass spectrometry and RNA-seq data collected from different organs of BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice strains. This comparison revealed a total of 461 overlapping DEGs (p-value<0.05) across all the 11 datasets combined (refer to Supplementary Data5 for a detailed list of overlapping genes and the resulting p-value from the hypergeometric distribution test performed for each dataset).

To investigate spaceflight-induced CNS alterations at a spatial level, we performed ST analysis on the other brain hemispheres from 3 flight (F1, F2, F3) and 3 ground control mice (G1, G2, G3). We collected two coronal sections from each brain hemisphere containing hippocampus, somatosensory cortex, striatum, amygdala and corpus callosum.

In total, we captured 14,630 genes across 29,770 spots after filtering and detected 10,884 UMIs/spot and 3755 genes/spot on average (Fig.2F, G; Supplementary Fig.3A, B) and found a high overall gene expression correlation between spaceflight and ground control tissue sections (r=0.99, p<0.05; Fig.2H). Unsupervised clustering analysis of spot information identified 18 distinct spatial clusters (further referred as ST clusters) (Fig.3A, B; Supplementary Data6), which presented a clear separation between the cortical top (ST cluster 1) and bottom layers (ST cluster 9), as well as other major structures, including hippocampus (with separation of CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus in ST clusters 10, 8 and 11 respectively), thalamus (ST cluster 5), striatum (ST clusters 0, 14), hypothalamus (ST cluster 2), pituitary (anterior and posterior; ST cluster 2), corpus callosum (ST cluster 12) and cerebral peduncles (ST cluster 4) (Fig.3C). Key functions of the markers (Supplementary Data7) that were shared by numerous ST clusters include neurogenesis, neuronal development, axonal growth and synaptogenesis, indicating that ST cluster analysis is dominated by neuronal gene expression.

A Clustering of spatial transcriptomics data, cluster annotations and spatial location of clusters visualized on flight and ground control mouse brain sections. B Marker genes for each ST cluster visualized as dotplot. C Spatial distribution of 3 genes (Wfs1 for CA1 region of hippocampus, Dkk3 for CA1 and CA3 hippocampal region and Prox1 for Dentate gyrus) in three flight (left column) and three ground control (right column) ST sections. D Significantly different pathways (p<0.05) between flight and ground control in ST cluster 9 (Cortical neurons, bottom layers). E Visualization of number of clusters identified by single-nuclei multiomics and their proportions in each ST cluster (x-axis; 017). Only multiomics clusters with higher proportions (>10%) are displayed in the barplot. F Cell type proportions mapped to spatial coordinates on three ground control (top row) and three flight (bottom row) mouse brain sections (Synaptic transmission I or multiomics cluster 1; Myelination or multiomics cluster 3; Neuronal activity, Synaptic transmission III or multiomics cluster 15).

Next, we investigated how spaceflight influences gene expression at the spatial level and identified a total of 4057 DEGs in 7 out of 18 ST clusters (Supplementary Data8). The majority of DEGs were involved in neuronal development, synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity, and neurodegeneration, including 21 DEGs in hippocampal CA3 neurons. The most pronounced change in gene expression due to spaceflight was observed in cortical neurons (bottom layers; ST cluster 9) which showed 3208 DEGs (1808 upregulated, and 1400 downregulated) with similar functions related to neuronal development and synaptic transmission in somatosensory, motor and visual cortex. Consensus pathway analysis18 highlighted neurodegeneration-associated pathways in cortical neurons (bottom layers; ST cluster 9) including protein misfolding and abnormal protein clearance, indicating potential similarities with neurodegenerative diseases characterized by protein misfolding and accumulation, such as Parkinsons disease19,20 (Fig.3D).

To infer the spatial distribution of the clusters identified by multiomics, we performed spot deconvolution analysis on matching ST dataset using Stereoscope21 (which corrects for biases arising from different experimental techniques before calculating celltype proportions probabilities) (Fig.3E; refer to Supplementary Figs.46 for detailed visualizations of multiomics cluster proportions in ST dataset). The deconvolution analysis revealed similarities based on the assigned functional annotations between several multiomics and spatial data clusters, for instance, synaptic transmission (multiomics cluster 1 matched with ST clusters 0 and 2), myelination (multiomics cluster 3 matched ST clusters 4 and 12), and neuronal activity (multiomics cluster 15 matched ST cluster 5) (Fig.3F; Supplementary Figs.7, 8; Supplementary Data9). This comparative analysis suggested the effects of spaceflight on synaptic transmission specifically in cortex (including both neurons and astrocytes, as revealed by snRNA-seq data that allowed cell type separation) and on dopaminergic neuron development specifically in striatum (Supplementary Data9).

To assess the effects of spaceflight on the cell-cell interaction level, we performed a ligand-receptor analysis on two multiomics clusters that showed among highest number of differentially expressed genes in response to spaceflight, i.e., multiomics clusters 4 (Astrocytes), and 11 (GABAergic Synaptic Transmission). We found 4 significantly upregulated interactions (Fig.4A), including adhesion molecule pairs, EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) pairs, and VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor). These ligand-receptor interactions have previously been shown to be involved in cellular development in the CNS. EGFR22, is involved in neuronal development, including axonal outgrowth. Meanwhile, VEGFA23,24 primarily regulates angiogenesis though it can also play a role in hippocampal neurogenesis, and astrocyte-produced VEGFA has previously been demonstrated to regulate neuronal NMDA receptor activity23,24,25. Interestingly, we found that spaceflight widely increased VEGFA_GRIN28 interactions between multiomics cluster pairs related to astrocytes and synaptic transmission, i.e., 4-11 (Astrocytes-GABAergic Synaptic Transmission). No ligand-receptor interactions in these clusters were significantly downregulated.

A Dotplot showing the differentially expressed ligand receptor pairs found by CellPhoneDB between two interacting multiomics clusters (4 and 11) which are affected by spaceflight. These clusters showed the largest number of spaceflight DEGs, and four LR pairs were found significantly upregulated in these interactions. The null distribution of the mean expression of the LR pairs was estimated by employing a random permutation approach. The mean expression of the interacting LR molecule pairs are indicated by the dot colors and the dot sizes represent the p-values which refers to the enrichment of the LR pair in the interacting multiomics clusters. Scales for both dot size and color are presented below the plot. B Accessibility differences for motifs Atoh1, Zic1, and Zic2 in multiomics cluster 4 of flight mice and ground control mice. Spaceflight results in reduced accessibility of these motifs in flight samples. Two-sided Chi-square test statistic was used for differential testing with FDR correction (fdr <0.05). C Accessibility differences for motifs Pou5f1, and Sox2 in multiomics cluster 11 of flight and ground control mice. Spaceflight results in increased accessibility of these motifs in flight samples. Effects of spaceflight shown by increased accessibility of these motifs in flight samples. Two-sided Chi-square test statistic was used for differential testing with FDR correction (fdr <0.05). D (left) adjusted p-value of differential interactions found by MISTy in intraview (cell type and pathway activity colocalization) occuring only in flight (blue; n=3 individual ST flight mouse samples) or in controls (red; n=3 individual ST ground control mouse samples), tiles with black border identify statistically significant changes, (middle) correlation of MAPK pathway activity and Neurovasculature abundance, and mapped on Visium slide for two samples (right). Two-sided Students t tests with BenjaminiHochberg multiple testing correction was used to determine the differential interactions. E adjusted p-value of differential interactions found by MISTy in paraview (cell type and pathway activity in local neighborhood) occuring only in flight (blue; n=3 individual ST flight mouse samples) or in controls (red; n=3 individual ST ground control mouse samples), tiles with black border identify statistically significant changes. Two-sided Students t tests with BenjaminiHochberg multiple testing correction was used to determine the differential interactions. F Pearson correlation of Glis3 activity (left) containing vascular endothelial cells and MAPK activity (n=6 individual ST mouse samples, 3 flight, 3 ground controls), and their respective activities in Visium slides (4 plots on the right). Two-sided Students t-tests with BenjaminiHochberg multiple testing correction was used to determine the changes in correlation. G Pearson correlation of Lef1 activity (left) within spots containing vascular endothelial cells and MAPK activity, and their respective activities in Visium slides (4 plots on the right). Two-sided Students t tests with BenjaminiHochberg multiple testing correction was used to determine the changes in correlation. multiomics cl: multiomics cluster. The boxplots in D, F, and G show the median as a central line, the box boundaries denote the first and third quartiles and the whiskers extend to the most extreme point in the range within 1.5 times the interquartile range from the box.

We also extended the ligand-receptor analysis to the ST dataset using SpatialDM26. We applied SpatialDM on each ST brain section to identify spatially co-expressed LR pairs and found a total of 1260 LR pairs (Supplementary Fig.9; refer to Supplementary Data10 for a detailed list of LR pairs with corresponding z-scores across each ST section). Differential testing between the two conditions (flight and ground control) for the observed 1260 LR pairs revealed a total of 134 differential LR pairs (differential p-value<0.1; Supplementary Data11).

To investigate the effects of spaceflight on transcription factors (TFs), we performed motif analysis on snATAC-seq peaks from the single nucleus multiomics data, which revealed spaceflight-mediated differences in TF activity in several multiomics clusters (Supplementary Data12), especially 4 (Astrocytes), and 11 (GABAergic Synaptic Transmission).

Spaceflight was associated with reduced accessibility of motifs Zic1, Zic2 and Atoh1 in multiomics clusters 4 (Astrocytes)27,28 (Fig.4B). Meanwhile, increased accessibility of motifs Pou5f1 and Sox2 in multiomics cluster 11 (GABAergic Synaptic Transmission) might indicate reduced neuronal differentiation in spaceflight29,30,31 (Fig.4C). In addition to neuronal effects, motifs Pparg, Rxra and Nr2f6, which collectively inhibit immune responses, showed decreased accessibility in telencephalon interneurons (multiomics cluster 11), suggesting increased inflammatory responses in space32,33,34, and possible circadian dysregulation35,36,37,38,39.

Local environments of cell types may affect the functional responses to spaceflight represented by changes in signaling pathways. We compared key signaling pathways in adjacent locations based on the spatially-resolved cell type deconvolution results from Stereoscope analyzed using the Multiview intercellular SpaTial modeling framework (MISTy)40. This tool allowed us to investigate the relationships between cell type proportions in each ST spot and activities of 14 pathways inferred by decoupler-py and PROGENy41,42. Specifically, the MISTy models predict cell type abundance in a spot based on an intraview (features in the same spot) and paraview (weighted sum of the features in the neighboring spots; weights decreasing with distance). Either cell type abundances or pathway activities were selected as features for the model, and a separate model was built for each sample and cell type. To analyze the effects of spaceflight, the models were subsequently aggregated into flight and ground control groups.

Based on cell type abundances, we did not find any significant changes in cell type colocalization (which would occur during tissue restructuring or lesion formation) between flight and ground controls, similar to our previous finding of no significant changes in cell type abundance in deconvolution results (Supplementary Figs.7 and 8).

In contrast, changes in signaling pathways were associated with individual cell types. Cell abundance in neurovasculature (multiomics cluster 12) colocalized with decreased MAPK signaling in spaceflight (Fig.4D). Similarly, signaling changes in local neighborhood (MISTy paraview) of several other cell types were found in spaceflight samples (Fig.4E): (1) less negative correlation of EGFR signaling and glutamatergic neuronal cells; (2) more negative correlation of MAPK and cholinergic, monoaminergic and peptidergic neurons; (3) increased TGFbeta signaling in the vicinity of GABAergic interneurons; (4) reduced WNT signaling in class II glutamatergic neurons.

To assess the downstream effects of these changes, we built a tissue-specific gene regulatory network (GRN) from the multiomics data using CellOracle43 and used it to predict TF activities in spatial data and computed the Pearson correlation between TF and signaling activities for the dysregulated pathways in spots containing the cell types identified above. The network suggested that the decrease in MAPK signaling in spaceflight increases activity of the transcription factor Glis3 and reduces Lef1 in neurovasculature, respectively (Fig.4F, G).

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) on the ST data using metabolic pathways indicated spaceflight-mediated inhibition of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, especially Complex I signaling (Fig.5A, Supplementary Data13), as well as pathways related to glycolysis/gluconeogenesis (Supplementary Fig.10), fructose and mannose metabolism (Supplementary Fig.11) and arachidonic acid metabolism (Fig.5B). Analysis of multiomics data was consistent with spaceflight-mediated reduction in these pathways together with fatty acid synthesis (Fig.5C; Supplementary Data14). Deficits in glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation are consistent with previously reported mitochondrial impairments caused by spaceflight44, while, arachidonic acid is primarily produced by astrocytes and suggests astrocyte dysfunction as a potential target for future spaceflight CNS studies.

A Heatmap showing fold change differences (log2FC) between flight and ground control samples in oxidative phosphorylation pathway in both ST and multiomics datasets. There is a spaceflight-mediated inhibition seen for this pathway that is consistent across the two datasets. Two-sided Wilcoxons rank-sum test was done with FDR adjustment. B Heatmap showing fold change differences (log2FC) between flight and ground control samples in Arachidonic acid metabolism pathway in both ST and multiomics datasets. There is a deficit for this pathway seen in spaceflight samples in both the datasets. Two-sided Wilcoxons rank-sum test was done with FDR adjustment. C Heatmap showing fold change differences (log2FC) between flight and ground control samples in Fatty acid synthesis pathway in both ST and multiomics datasets. There is a spaceflight-mediated reduction observed for this pathway in both the modalities. Two-sided Wilcoxons rank-sum test was done with FDR adjustment. multiomics cl: multiomics cluster.

In order to validate our findings on the spaceflight affected processes in mouse brain, we performed single molecule Fluorescence In situ Hybridization (smFISH) using the RNAscope technology for two genes of interest (Adcy1 and Gpc5) in five brain sections: 3 flights, 2 ground controls (Supplementary Fig.12) from a comparative set of mice (see Methods). We observed significant upregulation in the expression of both genes in spaceflight samples, confirming our findings from the ST data and multiomics data analysis (Supplementary Data3 and 8, Supplementary Fig.13AC). Adcy1 was particularly upregulated in the hippocampus and associated with changes in neuronal activity (ST clusters 8, 11), while Gpc5 was upregulated in astrocytes (multiomics cluster 4).

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Spatially resolved multiomics on the neuronal effects induced by spaceflight in mice - Nature.com

Star Wars Outlaws’ Space Travel Looks Disappointingly Similar To Starfield’s – TheGamer

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Highlights

Despite middling previews coming out of Summer Game Fest, Im still interested in Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisofts take on the Star Wars universe is giving me a Mandalorian Season 1 vibe, before all the Ahsokas and Skywalkers and other Glup Shittos arrived to fold it into the wider lore.

Im a man who wants his Star Wars media to just be little guys doing stuff in a universe I know, rather than a universe-altering plot that ends up with Yodas origin story. This is why Im finding The Acolyte refreshing, and why Im immediately turned off by practically any other modern Star Wars media.

Andor is the exception that proves the rule. What a show.

An independent force working apart from the Jedi, Kay Vess is an engaging protagonist. A rascal and likeable scumbag in the vein of Han Solo, shes the perfect vehicle to get me engaged with a new Star Wars story. The actual vehicles, on the other hand, might turn me off.

Yesterdays Ubisoft Forward showcase spent a long time dwelling on Star Wars Outlaws. Its clearly the companys golden goose, along with Assassins Creed Shadows, and its putting all of its eggs in these two multi-million dollar baskets. While the gunslinging and adventuring looked interesting, the extended space battle gave me the opposite feeling.

Its hard to get space travel right. One of the best attempts in recent years is another Star Wars game, Squadrons. It nailed the series iconic dogfights especially in VR weaving together the chaos of war with effective ship-handling mechanics to create an atmosphere that was hectic but controlled.

On the contrary, Outlaws fights already seem a little off. If the trailer, which is supposed to be a red hot sizzle reel of the best the game can offer, shows a player missing the target numerous times, turning sluggishly, and generally handling poorly. Of course, this could all be different by the time we get our hands on the spaceship, or it could feel very different to how it looks, but its a little worrying.

Something that definitely wont feel better, however, is the fast travel between planets. The gameplay clearly showed that you just need to select a planet from a menu to start a cutscene, after which you arrive in its atmosphere. From there, you can select a landing spot to trigger another cutscene, after which you turn up on the planet. Why are we still doing this?

This is a direct parallel to Starfields space travel. Which was fundamentally terrible. Why did we need to watch three (or more) cutscenes to get around the galaxy? I understand that not everyone wants to play an Elite Dangerous-esque simulator, but why cant we fast travel from one planets surface to another?

The answer is that games want to make space interesting. Interesting in the eyes of Bethesda and Ubisoft is having an engagement in the planetary atmosphere. Maybe its a trader, a distress call, or an enemy who immediately opens fire at you. If you could skip the atmospheric scene, you would miss all these storytelling opportunities. But would this be such a bad thing?

Games are big enough already. Outlaws has gunplay, stealth sections, vehicular travel on the surface (the speeder looks excellent, by the way). Its got story, its got Star Wars Easter Eggs, its got exploration, its got your lil pet. Do we need space battles on top of that? Maybe the devs wanted to include it because its a very Star Wars thing, but Id prefer one takeoff-hyperspace-landing cutscene to half-baked spaceflight broken up by three separate cutscenes. It would be less work, and a better experience for the player, especially considering well be zipping back and forth between planets on a regular basis.

Outlaws does have one advantage, however: its planets. At least when you arrive on a planet in the Ubisoft title, youll know its full of stuff to do. Starfields empty planets exacerbated the travel problem because, when you arrived after the three cutscenes, you were met with procedurally-generated emptiness.

Im willing to give Star Wars Outlaws a chance, but the space sections are already giving me the ick. I hope that the planet surfaces hold enough excitement to make the painful fast travel worth it.

We just got another extended look at Star Wars Outlaws' gameplay at Ubisoft Forward.

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Star Wars Outlaws' Space Travel Looks Disappointingly Similar To Starfield's - TheGamer

NASA astronauts pilot Starliner crewed test to Station – Theredstonerocket

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have traveled on the first crewed flight test aboard Boeings Starliner spacecraft which docked with the International Space Station.

As part of NASAs Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts lifted off at 9:52 a.m. June 5 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.

Two bold NASA astronauts are well on their way on this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. Boeings Starliner marks a new chapter of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a daring task but thats why its worth doing. Its an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of exploration. Go Starliner, Go Butch and Suni!

As part ofNASAs Commercial Crew Program, the flight test will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner previously flew two uncrewed orbital flights, including a test to and from the space station, along with a pad abort demonstration.

With Starliners launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival on orbit, Boeings Crew Flight Test is right on track, Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeings Commercial Crew Program, said. Everyone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable, ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.

During Starliners flight, Boeing will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Houston. NASA teams will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agencys Johnson Space Center.

Flying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA, Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, at NASAs Johnson Space Center, said. For many of us, this is a career-defining moment bringing on a new crew transportation capability for our agency and our nation. We are going to take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces, and remaining vigilant until Butch and Suni safely touch down back on Earth at the conclusion of this test flight.

Starliner autonomously docked to the forward-facing port of the stations Harmony module Thursday and would remain at the orbital laboratory for about a week.

Wilmore and Williams will help verify the spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and by maneuvering the thrusters, among other tests during flight.

After arriving at the space station, Wilmore and Williams joined the Expedition 71 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko.

The Huntsville Operations Support Center at Marshall Space Flight Center provides engineering and mission operations support for the space station, the Commercial Crew Program, and Artemis missions, as well as science and technology demonstration missions. ThePayload Operations Integration Centerwithin HOSC operates, plans and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The Commercial Crew Program support team at Marshall provides crucial programmatic, engineering, and safety and mission assurance expertise for launch vehicles, spacecraft propulsion, and integrated vehicle performance.

A flag-raising ceremony was held May 2 outside the HOSC for Marshalls support of the mission. The ceremony was a joint effort between the Payload and Mission Operations Division and Commercial Crew Program team.

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NASA astronauts pilot Starliner crewed test to Station - Theredstonerocket

China selects new batch of astronauts with an eye on the moon – SpaceNews

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HELSINKI Chinas human spaceflight agency announced the selection of 10 new astronauts Tuesday, aiming to bolster its spaceflight capabilities for future missions, including potential crewed lunar landings.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) selected 10 astronauts for its fourth batch of astronauts, it announced June 11. The 10 consist of eight pilots and two payload specialists. The latter pair are Chinas first astronauts from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The selected will receive systematic training at the Astronaut Center of China (ACC). They will be eligible for flights to the Tiangong space station after two years of basic training.

China started recruiting its fourth batch of astronauts in October 2022. Candidates went through preliminary selection, re-selection, and final selection. These phases included comprehensive and in-depth clinical medical examinations, physiological and psychological tests and endurance and adaptability to the space environment tests.

CMSEO selected 14 astronauts from air force pilots in 1998 for its first spaceflight missions. Yang Liwei became the first Chinese national to reach orbit in 2023. A second selection saw an additional seven astronauts chosen in 2010, including Chinas first women astronauts. China selected 18 new astronauts in a third round in 2020. These consisted of space pilots and, for the first time, flight engineers and payload specialists.

Candidates from the third round are now being added to flights to Tiangong. Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, currently aboard Tiangong as part of the Shenzhou-18 mission, are from the third selection round.

CMSEO, which operates under the Peoples Liberation Army, did not reveal identities of the astronauts, nor the gender ratio of the group. The 2020 selection of 18 astronauts included just one woman. A Hongkonger woman is one of the payload specialists for the fourth batch, according to the South China Morning Post.

Chinas human spaceflight activities are relatively secretive. CMSEO only reveals identities of crew members for Shenzhou missions to Tiangong via press conferences a day ahead of launch.

CMSEO also reiterated that it is looking to send international astronauts to Tiangong.

Astronaut selection and training system has become more mature and complete. With the deepening of international cooperation in human space flight, foreign astronauts will also participate in the selection and training and carry out Chinese space station flight missions, the CMSEO statement said.

The agency has made several statements on foreign astronauts flying on Chinese missions but has yet to indicate a timeline or nations from which potential astronauts may come. The European Space Agency is no longer considering sending its astronauts to Tiangong, despite earlier joint trainings.

China also has its sights set further afield. The country is targeting putting a pair of astronauts on the moon before 2030. This is part of the countrys growing human spaceflight ambitions, including expanding Tiangong and a sustained lunar presence.

Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system of Chinas human spaceflight program, told CCTV that ACC is focusing on the major tasks of the space station and future lunar missions.

Huang stated that geology-related courses have been opened, and field training and site surveys will be conducted. Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu participated in ESAs underground astronaut training course CAVES in 2016. A lunar landing mission training simulator is being developed to allow relevant training to be carried out.

Chinas initial crewed lunar landing plan is a short-term mission. However the country plans to establish an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) for a more permanent presence. It is also planning to expand Tiangong with further modules, providing further opportunities for spaceflight.

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China selects new batch of astronauts with an eye on the moon - SpaceNews

Spaceflight is hard on humans, but scientists see no showstoppers – The Washington Post

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Spaceflight can be brutal on the human body bones lose density, muscles atrophy, the immune system goes haywire and countermeasures will be necessary if large numbers of people will be routinely living and working in space, according to a massive array of research papers published Tuesday.

But authors of the new research said there is nothing they have seen so far that would prevent the continued expansion of humanity into space, including long-duration journeys to Mars.

Theres no showstopper, said Christopher Mason, professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and one of the leaders of the new research. Theres no reason we shouldnt be able to safely get to Mars and back.

In a conference call with reporters, Mason noted that women seem to be better able to withstand the stress of spaceflight, which could be associated with the ability to give birth and tolerate large changes in physiology and fluid dynamics.

This remains a preliminary finding, and researchers are eager to see more women in the cohort of astronauts involved in these studies, said Susan Bailey, a biological scientist at Colorado State University who is part of the research effort. She also noted that earlier studies suggested that women exposed to space radiation might be more susceptible to certain kinds of cancer.

The massive trove of new data, dubbed the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA), has been made public and is detailed in research papers published in the Nature Portfolio journals. It is the most comprehensive medical database showing what happens to astronauts when they leave the comfortable terrain where our species evolved.

The studies rely in large part on Inspiration4, a privately funded, all-civilian orbital mission launched by SpaceX in 2021. The four volunteers spent three days in space, and provided biospecimens before, during and after the mission. The researchers also looked at medical and biological research on 64 NASA astronauts.

Human beings have been going into space for the past 63 years, but scientists are still trying to figure out exactly what is happening to bodies and minds not accustomed to zero gravity and the radiation environment beyond the atmosphere.

With commercial spaceflight booming, and national space agencies focused anew on sending people to the moon and eventually to Mars, scientists and medical professionals are hoping to develop new medicines and tools to limit or repair the damage done by prolonged exposure to space.

While innovation across the aerospace sector makes these ambitions technologically achievable, the biomedical challenges for crews in these extraplanetary habitats still need to be addressed, as humans did not evolve to survive in such extreme environments, one of the reports states.

Mason said he saw no red flags preventing a Mars mission, but researcher Afshin Beheshti of the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science said one paper raises a yellow flag the higher risk of kidney stones.

Kidney stones, halfway to Mars, how are you going to treat that? Beheshti said.

The most significant risk of long-duration spaceflight may not be physiological at all. Astronauts working in confined spaces over long periods of time potentially face problems with social cohesion, the researchers noted. Because space is not where anyone wants to have a bad roommate.

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Spaceflight is hard on humans, but scientists see no showstoppers - The Washington Post

Space travel weakens astronauts’ immune system, similar to aging – Earth.com

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Space, the final frontier. Its a captivating expanse that has drawn human curiosity and exploration for decades. Yet, as astronauts venture beyond Earths atmosphere, they encounter a unique set of challenges, one of which is the profound impact that space travel has on the immune system and human body.

Researchers from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have unveiled insights into how the lack of gravity affects the immune system, offering potential solutions for astronauts and potentially even those of us who remain Earthbound.

To fully appreciate the impact of this research, its essential to have a foundational understanding of the immune system.

Our bodies possess a remarkable defense mechanism, a complex and interconnected network of cells, tissues, and organs that tirelessly work to safeguard us from a constant barrage of external threats.

These threats, in the form of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, are always seeking opportunities to invade our bodies and cause harm.

Our immune system, however, is not a passive bystander. Its an active and dynamic force that constantly monitors our internal environment, identifies potential dangers, and launches targeted responses to neutralize them.

Key players in this defense system are lymphocytes and monocytes, immune cells that circulate in our blood.

Throughout the history of space exploration, astronauts have consistently reported a range of immune-related complications during and after their missions.

These complications include a heightened susceptibility to infections, where astronauts become more prone to illnesses caused by various pathogens.

Additionally, astronauts have experienced the reactivation of latent viruses, such as the varicella-zoster virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles.

Furthermore, heightened skin sensitivity, manifesting as rashes or irritations, has also been observed.

Disturbingly, these immune-related issues can arise even during short-duration spaceflights, underscoring the rapid and significant impact that microgravity has on the immune system.

The fact that even brief exposures to space can trigger these complications emphasizes the urgency of understanding and mitigating these risks for the well-being of astronauts venturing beyond Earth.

Prior research had provided evidence suggesting that microgravity, the condition of near-weightlessness experienced in space, could negatively impact the function of immune cells.

However, the specific biological mechanisms responsible for this impairment remained unclear.

To address this knowledge gap, the research team at the Buck Institute, spearheaded by Dr. David Furman and Dr. Daniel Winer, initiated a study to investigate the effects of simulated microgravity on human immune cells.

Their goal was to uncover the underlying processes that contribute to immune dysfunction in microgravity environments, with the ultimate aim of developing strategies to protect astronauts health during space missions.

Using a device developed by NASA to mimic the near-weightlessness of space, the researchers exposed immune cells from healthy volunteers to simulated microgravity for 25 hours.

Through advanced techniques like sequencing and super-resolution microscopy, they captured a detailed picture of how the cells functions were altered in this unique environment.

What they discovered was both fascinating and unexpected. The changes observed in the immune cells of astronauts during spaceflight mirrored those seen in the aging process here on Earth.

This revelation suggests a potential link between microgravity and immune aging, opening up new avenues for research into both space medicine and strategies to combat age-related immune decline.

Dr. Winer, an expert in mechanoimmunology (the study of how environmental forces affect immune cell function), highlighted the crucial role of mechanical forces in orchestrating immune responses.

Interestingly, changes in mechanical forces appear to orchestrate immune cell function, said Winer. Parts of astroimmunology.

The study of immune system changes in space, are related to mechanoimmunolgy paving the way to better understand how to help the immune system survive in space.

Armed with a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind immune dysfunction in microgravity, the researchers turned their attention to potential countermeasures.

Leveraging machine learning technology, they identified numerous compounds that could potentially protect immune cells.

One compound, quercetin, a natural plant pigment found in various fruits and vegetables, emerged as a promising candidate.

Quercetin was shown to reverse a significant portion of the changes caused by microgravity and shield immune cells from damage.

The Buck Institute teams findings have far-reaching implications.

These findings define hallmarks of immune cell alteration in simulated microgravity, with correlation to spaceflight exposures in mice and humans. This work helps define avenues for future research in mechanoimmunology and astroimmunology and provides opportunities to develop countermeasures to maintain normal cellular function in space, Dr. Winer emphasized.

Dr. Furman added that this study serves as a valuable resource for the scientific community, providing a comprehensive atlas of human biology in the extreme environment of space.

The research also opens doors to explore the parallels between spaceflight-induced immune changes and those associated with aging, potentially leading to interventions that could reverse age-related immune dysfunction.

As humanity continues its journey into space, understanding and mitigating the health risks associated with space travel becomes increasingly critical.

This research not only paves the way for protecting astronauts immune systems but also offers potential benefits for people on Earth, particularly in the realm of aging research.

The cosmos, it seems, holds clues not just to the mysteries of the universe but also to the intricacies of our own biology.

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Space travel weakens astronauts' immune system, similar to aging - Earth.com

The Exploration Co. To Provide Cargo Services To Vasts Space Station – Aviation Week

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Private space station developer Vast Space has signed a cargo services agreement with The Exploration Co. of Munich.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Vast of Long Beach, California, recently signed with the European Space Agency (ESA) to collaborate on astronaut missions, research and commercial business development. As part of that agreement, Vast would also look at using European cargo and crew transport services at market rates or as an in-kind trade for ESA astronaut missions.

The Exploration Co. is developing a reusable space capsule, called Nyx, that would be used to supply cargo to Vasts second Haven space station in 2028, per the agreement, The Exploration Co. said on June 11. The Nyx cargo vehicle is expected to carry more than 4,000 kg (8,800 lb.) to low Earth orbit (LEO) and bring back to Earth more than 2,600 kg. The Exploration Co. plans to charge $150 million for each resupply cargo mission to an LEO space station, its website says.

Vast is excited to partner with The Exploration Co. as we strengthen our collaboration with European industry and enable human space exploration with ESA-member space agencies such as [The German Aerospace Center], Vast CEO Max Haot says.

Vast and SpaceX in May 2023 announced a plan to launch Haven-1 as soon as August 2025. The commercial space station would feature the ability to spin and generate enough centripetal force to create the equivalent of gravity on the Moon. The space station would rely partially on the SpaceX Dragon capsules life support system to sustain a crew for 30 days.

European space missions could begin flying to Vasts space station as soon as 2026, Vast has said.

With the International Space Station retiring in 2030, space agencies are looking to private station developers to host their research and development projects in LEO. In addition to space agencies, private station developers are looking to an emerging market of businesses for conducting research and development, as well as manufacturing, in microgravity.

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The Exploration Co. To Provide Cargo Services To Vasts Space Station - Aviation Week

Spatial multi-omics of human skin reveals KRAS and inflammatory responses to spaceflight – Nature.com

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Transcriptome-wide changes in response to spaceflight

To understand the impact of spaceflight to skin and tissue microenvironment, paired 4mm skin punch biopsies from Inspiration4 crew members upper arms were used for pathology evaluation and spatial transcriptomics profiling (Fig.1a and Supplementary Fig.1). In total, 95 ROIs were collected across 16 slides for processing, with the GeoMx whole transcriptome profiling probe set (18,422 probes). Based on imaging we selected four region types of interest, including the outer epidermis, inner epidermis, outer dermis, and the vasculature (OE, IE, OD, and VA). We also performed a skin histopathology analysis from the biopsied samples, which showed no significant abnormalities or changes in tissue morphologies or gross architecture (Supplementary Fig.2).

a Experimental design and workflow with representative tissue staining images (created with BioRender.com), b Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) of all ROIs collected, c Volcano plot of overall post- vs. pre-spaceflight DEGs (using DESeq2 method), d Pathway enrichment analysis comparing DEGs from pre- and post-spaceflight skin tissues, visualizing normalized enrichment scores of MSigDB Hallmark pathways, and e Cell proportion comparisons between pre- and post-spaceflight samples (ns non-significant, *p0.05, **p0.01, ***p0.001, and ****p0.0001 by Wilcoxon test, two-sided; boxplot shows median/horizontal line inside the box, the interquartile range/box boundaries, whiskers extending to 1.5 times the interquartile range, and outliers as individual points outside the whiskers; exact p values are included in the Source Data). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

From GeoMx spatial transcriptomics analysis, unsupervised clustering of all ROIs showed large clustering around compartmental identities. Slight shifts in response to spaceflight, and batch effects from both technical and biological replicates were not apparent after normalization (Fig.1b and Supplementary Fig.3a). Differential gene expression analysis comparing post-spaceflight to pre-spaceflight samples found significant upregulation in 95 genes (log2FC>0 and q value<0.05 by DESeq2) including ARHGAP31, GALNT9, CPNE2, NMB, GPR50, CLDN2, OOSP2, and downregulation in 121 genes (log2FC<0 and q value<0.05 by DESeq2) such as AP3B1, LMNA, COL6A2, VIM, HLA-B, PPP1CB, PABPC1 (Fig.1c and Supplementary Data1). Furthermore, proteins associated with cell junctions and extracellular matricesparticularly those from vimentin (VIM) and keratin (KRT) familywere the primary transcripts lost based on the DEG analyses.

Pathway analysis of these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed statistically significant enrichment in kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) signaling pathways, while transcripts associated with cell junctions and protein (i.e., apical junction, unfolded protein response) decreased (Fig.1d and Supplementary Data2). From expression levels, cell type composition for each ROI was estimated and compared across timepoints. We also observed statistically significant decreases in the cell type associated gene signatures of the major skin cell types and immune cells (e.g., melanocyte, pericyte, fibroblast, and T cells) (Fig.1e).

We then investigated region-specific expression changes across pre- and post-spaceflight samples for each ROI type label (OE, IE, OD, and VA). OE and IE regions were selected based on and corresponds to stratum granulosum and spinosum/basal, respectively. OD ROIs were selected by capturing a minimum of 200 cells inside of the basal cell layer (therefore mostly papillary layer), while VA ROIs were collected based on epithelial (FAP) and fibroblast (SMA) staining (Fig.1a). We observed transcripts specific to each ROI label and timepoint (Supplementary Fig.3b, c).

For each ROI type, differential gene expression analyses were performed comparing postflight samples relative to preflight samples (Fig.2a and Supplementary Data1). For example, we found that the decrease in transcripts related to fibroblast and junction genes (e.g., DES, ACTA2, TLN1, TAGLN) specifically near the vasculature sites (VA). Loss of KRT14 as well as other keratin family transcripts (KRT1, 5, and 10) were found predominantly in the dermal layer (OD). Taking the intersections of these DEGs to identify unique and overlapping genes across ROI types, we confirmed that most of the gene overlaps occur within ROI types that are relatively close to each other (i.e., VA and OD) (Fig.2b). In particular, changes in AP3B1, a transcript related to granule formation, cytokine production, and inflammatory responses, were found in multiple comparisons (overall, OE, and OD) and was orthogonally validated with another technology, RNA scope (Supplementary Fig.4ac)23. In the inner layers of the tissue (OD and VA), we found overlapping DEGs related to stress and growth factor associated pathways, such as COL6A2, CRKL, HLA-B.

a Volcano plot showing DEGs by ROI typesOE, IE, OD, and VA respectively; the number of DEGs were determined by cutoffs of adjusted p value<0.1 and |log2FC|>0.5 (using DESeq2 method), b UpSet plots comparing the intersections of region-specific DEGs, c Hallmark, non-germline gene set enrichment analysis across four ROI types; NES Normalized Enrichment Scores; Arrow indicates tissue locations, where OE is the outermost layer and VA is the innermost layer. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed the consistent increase of KRAS signaling and inflammatory responses across all regions while specific immune pathways such as Interferon alpha and gamma response showed positive enrichment only in epidermal regions (OE and IE) (Fig.2c and Supplementary Data2). Pathways such as DNA repair, apoptosis, and UV response, reactive oxygen species were enriched only in the OE. We observed downregulation in genes involved with mitochondrial metabolism (e.g., myc target genes and oxidative phosphorylation) across all regions, particularly stronger in IE and OD ROIs. Also, the myogenesis pathway and EMT-related genes showed stronger decrease in enrichment scores in the VA ROIs, underscoring the region- and layer-specific responses to spaceflight. Comparing the pathway-level changes to blood sequencing datasets from the same mission and previous mission (NASA Twin Study, although with different duration of exposure), we found consistent changes in pathways such as KRAS signaling, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and angiogenesis (Supplementary Fig.4d)5.

In addition to differential analyses, we also found that the marker genes reported to be specific to each skin layer and cell type corresponded to the expression levels in each ROI type and were consistent with the previous findings (Supplementary Fig.3b, c)24,25,26. Based on the reference datasets, deconvolved cell type abundances were compared across ROI types and timepoints (Supplementary Fig.5a). We found a loss of melanocyte related gene signatures specifically in the middle layers (IE and OD), not in the outermost region (OE) or vascular region deeper in the dermal layer (VA). On the contrary, fibroblast related gene expressions were decreased across all regions except for the outermost epidermal layer (OE). Although fibroblast is an unanticipated cell type in the epidermis ROIs, decreased fibroblast signature could indicate loss or damage of cellular and matrix interactions, consistent with previous reports highlighting the role of fibroblasts with epidermal regeneration (Supplementary Fig.5b, c)27,28.

To investigate the phenotypic impact of spaceflight, we then focused on genes and pathways related to skin barrier formation, disruption, and regeneration. From the pathway analysis, we found enrichment changes in apical junction, UV stress response, hypoxia, and TGF signaling (Fig.2c and Supplementary Data2). Specifically, we observed a decrease in filaggrin (FLG) expression, a gene related to skin barrier function and plays a crucial role during epidermal differentiation by controlling interactions across cytoskeleton components, in postflight relative to preflight samples29. The decrease of FLG was the most evident in the OE region (Supplementary Data1). Related to this observation, we also observed decreases in transcripts such as HAS1, HAS2, HAS3, OCLN, CLDN, TGM2 in the OE region (Fig.3a).

a Gene expression changes of interest, b fold change of proportions in post-flight samples relative to pre-flight samples, by compartments, c cell type correlation matrix changes. Black boxes represent undetermined spots (due to minimal cell counts); boxes with X marks represent correlations that did not pass statistical testing (p value<0.05, Pearson correlation, two-sided). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

The decrease in protein production and response potentially are connected to decrease in keratinocyte and increase in immune signatures (potentially related to interactions with T cells and fibroblasts) in OE region ROIs (Fig.3b)30. Although weaker, the IE region shows a similar trend of cell proportion fold changes. Specifically, among fibroblast populations we also found that gene signatures of reticular fibroblast increased in postflight samples while there were no statistically significant changes in papillary fibroblast, suggesting disruptions in regeneration processes (Supplementary Fig.5b, c)31,32. Taking co-occurrence of the proportion changes, cellular interactions within the ROIs were estimated. While cluster disruption was relatively minimal, an increase in melanocyte-macrophage interactions were found in the epidermis (OE and IE) ROIs (Fig.3c). In addition, expression changes related to vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells and pericytes varied across the skin regions. The most pronounced cell signature changes were seen in the OE and VA compartments. In the OE compartment, we observed an increase in signatures related to lymphatic endothelial cells, potentially indicating the changes in the skins vascular and immune system (Fig.3b). While blood and lymphatic capillaries are not typically found in the epidermis, these adaptations may be suggestive of a wound-healing phenotype with the skin, which is supported by our results showing increased damage, inflammation, apoptosis, ROS, hypoxia, angiogenesis, TGF-beta expression, etc., in the epidermis (Fig.2c)33,34. On the other hand, in the VA compartment, there was an increase of gene signatures related to blood endothelium and decrease in lymphatic endothelium, also associated with vascular remodeling events.

To test whether immune activation and epithelial barrier disruption can be explained with external environmental change, we performed metagenomics and metatranscriptomics analysis on the skin swabs collected right before biopsies (Supplementary Fig.6a). After assignment of taxonomic labels to DNA sequences, we identified 826 bacterial and 9819 viral species with non-zero counts from metagenomics analysis, and 88 bacterial and 1456 viral species from metatranscriptomics analysis (Supplementary Data3). From PCA analysis, no major clustering was observed, although post flight samples were located closer to one another in the PCA space (Fig.4a). The shifts of the samples were mostly from species from Staphylococcus and Streptococcus family, along the PC2 axis. Slight decrease in overall numbers of bacterial and viral species was observed in postflight samples relative to preflight, with one exception of C003 in metagenomics data and of C004 in metatranscriptomics data (Fig.4b). Gross comparison of bacterial species by family showed decreased abundance in Actinobacteria (e.g., Actinomyces sp000220835) while increased abundance in Firmicutes/Bacillota (e.g., Peptoniphilus C/B) and Proteobacteria/Pseudomonadota (e.g., Caulobacter vibrioides, Sphingomonas carotinifaciens, Roseomonas mucosa/nepalensis) (Fig.4c, d and Supplementary Fig.6b). When grouped into genus, several species, including Cutibacterium (e.g., Cutibacterium acnes/avidum/modestum/porci), Mycobacterium (e.g., Mycobacterium paragordonae, Mycobacterium phocaicum), and Pseudomonas (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa/nitroreducens) showed statistically significant decrease (p values<0.05). Several species including Streptococcus (e.g., Staphylococcus capitis, Streptococcus mitis BB) and Veillonella (e.g., Veillonella atypica/parvula/rogosae) showed significant increase (Fig.4d). Also, species under the Staphylococcus genus, such as staphylococcus capitis/epidermidis/saprophyticus showed slight decrease while the relative abundances were highly variable across biological replicates.

a PCA across all metagenomic and metatranscriptomic (bacterial and viral reads) relative abundance features and all crew members pre- and post-flight, b Total number of bacterial and viral species with nonzero counts, c Relative abundances by sample and timepoint, grouped by family, d Changes in relative abundance before and after spaceflight, grouped by genus; statistically significant or previously reported microbes are visualized (two-sided Wilcoxon test across four crew members was performed to compare means between pre- and post-flight samples and to obtain p values, and error bars represent the standard error of the mean), and e Correlation across relative abundance of bacterial phyla identified by metagenomics data and known barrier/immune genes associated with skin diseases and disruptions. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

Changes of bacterial species were then linked to skin gene expression profiles, especially dermatitis-related genes (i.e., STAT3, STAT5B, FLG, CDSN, and ADAM17) previously associated with Staphylococcus species, as Staphylococcus aureus-dependent atopic dermatitis have been reported to activate immune system and reduce microbe diversity35,36,37 (Fig.4e and Supplementary Fig.6c). When subsetting previously reported bacterial species and associated genes, we found Staphylococcus species show an inverse relationship with JAK1 (Fig.4e). In particular, Staphylococcus correlates closely to FLG, SPINK5, and DSG1, all of which are related with epithelial barriers (stratum corneum and junctional barriers)38. Also, microbes belong to Carnobacteriaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Nanosynbacteraceae, and Weeksellaceae families showed high correlation with both barrier and immune genes (CDSN, DSP, DSG1, SPINK5, FLG, and JAK1), whereas common skin microbes from Dermatophilaceae and Dermabacteraceae families showed no correlation. Although larger sample size is needed, it is possible that skin microbiome disruptions, such as those observed in these bacterial families, also contribute to barrier disruption and immune activation during short-term spaceflight.

In addition, from alignment to known viral assemblies we found statistically significant decrease in abundance of reads associated with those from Uroviricota (i.e., Fromanvirus, Acadianvirus, Armstrongvirus, Amginevirus, Bixzunavirus) and Naldaviricetes (i.e., Alphabaculovirus), and increased abundance of reads associated with those from Negarnaviricota (i.e., Almendravirus, Orthotospovirus) and Cossaviricota (i.e., Betapapillomavirus, Betapolyomavirus) (p values<0.05). Virome changes are limited by the depth of the sequencing and skin virome knowledge, however we also report relative abundances of both bacterial and viral species (Supplementary Data3). To explore microbiota-skin interactions, we also identified potential associations between microbiome shifts from metagenomics/metatranscriptomics data and human gene expression from skin spatial transcriptomics data; these included associations were with viral phyla (i.e., Uroviricota, Cressdnaviricota, Phixviricota), which is a potentially interesting area to explore as more crew samples are collected. (Supplementary Fig.6d, e and Supplementary Data3).

To investigate immune changes that occur beneath the epidermis we also examined changes in immune cells in the profiled vascular regions vs. PBMCs. We saw overall decrease of T cells and increase of macrophage DCs in VA ROIs (Fig.3b), indicating an immune-epidermis interaction. Related to this, we also observed increased cytokines and inflammatory signals including IL4, IL5, and IFNG in the inner regions (VA and OD ROIs) of the tissue (Fig.5a)39,40. As a confirmation, we observed that these specific cytokines are also shown to be increased in cytokine assays from the crew members serum samples (Fig.5b). To compare immune change observations from VA ROIs to system-wide immune system changes, we performed leveraged 10X multiome sequencing (dual snRNA and ATAC sequencing from each cell) on timepoint-matched PBMCs from the crew members (Supplementary Fig.7a). We analyzed 151,411 cells across 9 gross cell types and performed differential expression analysis (Supplementary Fig.7b, c). Overall, we observed fluctuations of T-cells across timepoints, consistent to the observations from skin spatial transcriptomics data (Fig.5c, d and Supplementary Fig.7d). Among 555 DEGs from multiome samples and 446 DEGs from GeoMx VA ROIs, 12 overlapping DEGs were found (both log2FC>0.1 and p values<0.01, DESeq2), including ATP11A, CEP85L, CEPT1, DMXL1, DOP1A, EVI5, GSAP, MDFIC, SENP7, TBCK, VAV3, and VPS13C (Fig.5c and Supplementary Fig.7c). Several of these genes are related to cellular metabolism and cytosolic transports. In particular, VAV3, one of signaling adapters in NK/T cell activation, has been previously reported to be associated with atopic dermatitis onset41,42,43. While all these overlapping DEGs were temporary in PBMCs, i.e., upregulated in the immediate postflight samples (R+1 timepoint) and returned to pre-flight expression levels, the chromatin accessibility of these genes stayed slightly longer, up to R+45 timepoint (Fig.5d).

a Notable cytokine changes and locations from (a) skin transcriptomics data by region and, b cytokine assay from serum samples (sig. Indicates overall statistical significance of the cytokine levels in the postflight samples relative to the preflight samples, where red indicates significantly increased, and green means stable/no change; two-sided Wilcoxon test was done with the p value cutoff of 0.05), c Comparison of DEGs between PBMC multiome data and spatial transcriptomics data from VA ROIs, d Dot plots visualizing mRNA transcript expression levels (left) and gene activity score from ATAC signals (right), where preflight samples were collected 44 days before launch (L-44) and postflight samples were collected 1, 45, and 82 days post return (R+1, R+45, and R+82, respectively), e Flight and cell type specific gene signature enrichment in spatial data by timepoint and ROI types, f gene signature enrichment analysis using gene signatures built from skin disease-related gene expression profiles; two-sided Wilcoxon test across four crew members and 95 ROIs was performed to obtain p value, where *p0.05 and **p0.01, and error bars represents standard deviation of the mean. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

Finally, we derived cell type- and spaceflight-specific gene signatures from the multiome data, to examine any enrichment in the GeoMx samples (using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis, or ssGSEA approach) (Fig.5e). Most of the immune cell specific postflight DEGs enrichments were near the innermost ROIs (OD and VA), except for T cells (both CD4+ and CD8+), which showed enrichment in the postflight OE ROIs. While it was previously reported that spaceflight stressors change the immune system, increased enrichment of the T cells in the epidermal region correlates with activated T cell activity and connects to inflammatory responses and barrier disruptions44,45,46,47,48. Lastly, we found that these increased T cell signatures in the OE region may not have direct connection to Th17 T cells or psoriasis, rather have closer connection to the antigen-associated and lymphatic T cells infiltrated from inner layers of the skin (Fig.5f)49,50. Also, the ssGSEA analysis using skin disease-associated gene signatures showed a slight increase in melanoma signatures. The slight increase can be explained with previous observations throughout this manuscript, including increase in cell death, immune activation, and stress response (Supplementary Fig.7e, f), but more research is needed to prove the direct connection or causality of gene expression shifts.

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Spatial multi-omics of human skin reveals KRAS and inflammatory responses to spaceflight - Nature.com

End of an era for Virgin Galactic commercial flights Source New Mexico – Source New Mexico

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SPACEPORT AMERICA Virgin Galactic launched its seventh, and last flight with the Unity ship, out of the New Mexico Spaceport Saturday.

The four passengers on the commercial flight and two experiments from Purdue University and University of California Berkeley.

The four customers were Turkish researcher Tuva Atasever; SpaceX propulsion engineer Andy Sadhwani; former real estate developer Irving Izchak Pergament, and London hotel and resort investment strategist Giorgio Manenti.

At an apogee of 54.4 miles, the flight made it into the fuzzy line between the Earths atmosphere and space, defined by NASA as 50 miles above the Earths surface, but below the imaginary boundary of the Kmn Line, measured about 62 miles above the planet.

This flight, sent off with the cheers of several hundred observers, is the last commercial flight for at least two years.

In November Virgin Galactic laid off 185 employees, including 73 in New Mexico, as a strategy to pivot to building space planes with more seats, outlining a plan to fly several times a month when it returns in 2026.

The company has said the facility to build the crafts in Mesa, Arizona, is expected to be operational in 2024.

Virgin Galactics founder, billionaire Richard Branson, appeared at the launch site Saturday outside of Truth or Consequences. Branson joined Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier in heralding the future of the company.

The new Delta-class of spaceship will be wonderful, Branson said. It will be like building aeroplanes so we can build one after the other, after the other, and in time start bringing the prices down and enabling more people to go to space.

Scott McLaughlin, the executive director at the New Mexico Spaceport Authority at the last commerical launch for Virgin Galactic before the hiatus. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

Virgin Galactic founder and British billionaire, Richard Branson, watched the launch Saturday. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

The spaceplane separates from the carrier plane, and begins to burn in a rocket stage. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

The VSS Unity ship realights after reaching an apogee at 54.4 miles above the earth, in near-space. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

Branson, left, joins the passengers for the seventh commercial spaceflight at Spaceport America, along with Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier, far right. (Source NM / Danielle Prokop)

The 'Gateway to Space' building which Virgin Galactic leases from the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, as seen on Saturday, Jun 8, 2024. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

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End of an era for Virgin Galactic commercial flights Source New Mexico - Source New Mexico

Take a video tour of Boeing’s Starliner with its 2 NASA astronauts – Space.com

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Two NASA astronauts have filmed a tour of Boeing's Starliner, taking the public around the spacecraft that delivered them to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (June 6).

Starliner docked with the ISS Friday at 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT), 26 hours after the capsule launched on its first-ever crewed flight. The crew are commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, the first two of dozens of astronauts expected to fly to the ISS aboard the Boeing spacecraft.

Wilmore and Williams will stay aboard the ISS until at least June 18, an extension of five or so days beyond what was originally expected. The extra time will allow engineers to perform more checkouts on Starliner and provide margin for an ISS spacewalk on June 13.

Related: Boeing's 1st Starliner astronaut mission extended through June 18

In the meantime, Wilmore and Williams treated us to a guided tour of the interior of Starliner.

Williamsbegins the tour on the ISS with Wilmore behind the camera, pointing to the JapaneseExperiment Module (JEM), nicknamed Kibo, on the port side of the space station. She then indicates Europe's Columbus module on the ISS' starboard side before passing down the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA), which links spacecraft like Starliner to the ISS, moving to the docking adapter and finally into Starliner.

The first shot onboard the Boeing craft shows Williams upside down, indicating the two-person crew's ventilation system, which consists of several orange tubes. We then see the cramped-looking crew living area, which Wilmore assures us is actually quite spacious. Let's hope so, because Starliner will ferry four passengers to the ISS next rather than two.

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The tour then reveals the hatch of Starliner, as Wilmore drifts into the craft to sit in his commander's seat while Williams takes her pilot's chair.

This offers the bird's eye view that the crew had during their historic journey to the ISS. Williams also shows the controls that Wilmore used to manually fly Starliner during a series of pre-docking tests.

"Everything's been fantastic. The spacecraft has handled things remarkably well, much better than the simulator, and it's been just a positive event," Wilmore says in the video.

The NASA astronaut then indicates the safety equipment that would be used if the crew had to use the Starliner as a lifeboat in the event of an emergency situation, such as debris approaching the ISS.

Wilmore says he and Williams have already performed a "safe haven" practice event to test the procedure for taking shelter in Starliner. Also among the safety equipment are orange bags with kits that would be used in the event of a toxic chemical leak and respirator masks that would be worn if that situation were to arise.

Before leaving the Starliner craft, Wilmore pays tribute to his and William's fellow U.S. service members.

"In case you were wondering, yes, Suni and I are both Naval aviators, so we put on our Navy paraphernalia to show off and be proud of our service," Wilmore says in the video. "So, thanks to all of you out there serving right now throughout the world and protecting freedom."

Back on the ISS, the tour ends with a sight that will bring life on the space station down to Earth. Wilmore explains that, because it was Saturday, the ISS crew had the vacuum cleaner out cleaning! He then floats the microphone back to Williams, who signs off the tour.

"I'm just super happy to be here on the ISS with our international partners," she says. "It's really awesome to showcase our new spacecraft, Starliner. It is a pretty spectacular event to have humans orbiting the planet, and now we have a number of ways to get people here.Butch and I are so honored to be part of this crew."

Originally posted here:

Take a video tour of Boeing's Starliner with its 2 NASA astronauts - Space.com

Arrest Threatens Nepals Standing as Bastion of Free Speech – The New York Times

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In a region sliding toward authoritarianism one country after another, the small Himalayan nation of Nepal was a shining exception.

Political debates remained largely free, and the powerful could easily be questioned. That openness, in a poor country emerging from centuries of monarchical suppression and decades of insurgency, showed that democratic expression need not necessarily be correlated to economic status.

But the arrest last month of the owner of the countrys largest media conglomerate has raised fears about the Nepali governments commitment to free speech, and about whether the country is now going the way of its South Asian neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

The executive, Kailash Sirohiya, was detained nearly two weeks ago in a thinly veiled act of retaliation by Nepals powerful home minister, Rabi Lamichhane. The minister had been the subject of intensely negative coverage by the Kantipur Media Group, owned by Mr. Sirohiya.

The companys news articles had disclosed that Mr. Lamichhane, a popular television host before he turned to politics, had broken the law by serving in Parliament while maintaining citizenship in a second country, the United States.

Mr. Lamichhane resigned but then returned months later to Parliament, and to the helm of the Ministry of Home Affairs, after addressing the citizenship issue. Kantipur continued to examine Mr. Lamichhanes actions, however, later reporting accusations of embezzlement against him.

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Arrest Threatens Nepals Standing as Bastion of Free Speech - The New York Times

Gender, equality, and free speech: A look at Mammadyarov’s controversial remarks Aze.Media – Aze Media

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Last week, chess player Shakhriyar Mammadyarov expressed his opinion on his YouTube channels show Persona that women are weaker than men in many areas. This statement was harshly criticized on social media and was seen as contrary to the concept of gender equality.

Perhaps, a few years ago, say 5-6 years ago, I would have joined the campaign to criticize Shakhriyar Mammadyarov and might have even been one of those who lynched him. However, age and life experience allow me to analyze what is happening without emotions, calmly and impartially. In this sense, the generalized statements of the chess player about women do not bother me as a woman, and I even want to thank him for publicly expressing his conservative views.

The fact is that it is absolutely necessary to loudly express opposing opinions that do not align with the standards of neoliberals so that those who lynch dissenters on social media and subject them to psychological violence do not dominate society. Neoliberals spread a dangerous virus of the idea that everyone should think alike. They are intolerant of opinions that do not support their stance and, instead of engaging in a normal polemic, exhibit infantile hysteria, considering themselves morally superior to everyone else and unable to digest differences. As a result, a situation has arisen in the West where even the most respected intellectual is forced to remain silent if they disagree with the neoliberals, fearing a massive attack, job loss, and social exclusion. Many times, both abroad and here, when a public figure expresses a conservative opinion, feminists and supporters of gender equality apply emotional and psychological pressure on that person instead of conducting a logical, cultured discussion. Or, for instance, Azerbaijani immigrants may rejoice in the liberation of Karabakh in private conversations but curse the war in their social media posts, fearing deportation from the countries where they have sought asylum. Such behavior is a new form of Nazism in a neoliberal guise. One of the factors preventing our neoliberals from moving from the virtual world to reality is the dominance of mental conservatism in society.

As a journalist, I began my active career at 525-ci qzet (525th Newspaper). During my career, I wrote many critical and rebellious articles against conservative values and the institution of elders. However, my observations of the impudence of modern neoliberalism and its attempts to suppress diversity of opinion, as well as analytical articles I read, gradually dissuaded me from this rebelliousness

Most people who criticize Shakhriyar Mammadyarov for his statements call him a sexist and a person with primitive thinking, emphasizing his disrespect for gender equality in their angry texts. I listened to the part of Shakhriyar Mammadyarovs interview in question; he calmly, without any insulting tone, shares his thoughts, does not oppose womens right to education and self-realization in desired fields, but merely makes a generalization. The main argument of his opponents is that for centuries men have not created equal opportunities for women, so they have not been able to show their talents and strengths. When it comes to art, as a film critic, I can say: compared to other art forms, cinematography is very young. In the years when the cinematic language was developing and being recognized as serious art, many womens rights were already recognized, and they were active in this field. If I were to compile a list of the ten, twenty, or even fifty best directors in the world, not a single female director would be included. Of course, there are women directors with excellent films: Kira Muratova, Larisa Shepitko, Chantal Akerman, Liliana Cavani, Margarethe von Trotta, Agnes Varda, Agnieszka Holland, and others. However, the collective work of all these women directors would still lose to the work of Buuel or Antonioni in terms of artistic criteria, cinematic language, and interpretation. Or in the field of acting, I could name dozens of brilliant actresses. Heres an interesting fact: Rene Jeanne Falconettis performance in Carl Dreyers The Passion of Joan of Arc is still considered the best acting performance in cinema.

Now, to ensure gender equality in cinema, they artificially push female directors, regardless of talent, into prestigious festivals. As a result, films like Titane and Happening, which are genuinely low-quality and irrelevant to art, win awards

When it comes to creating equal opportunities for both genders, women must also be prepared to serve in the military and work in tough jobs, and their biological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics will not be considered. Recently, a law was passed in the Netherlands that requires women to serve in the army based on gender equality. At this rate, the situation will reach the point where women will suffer not from gender inequality but from gender equality.

Looking for signs of sexism in everything has already reached the point of absurdity. In the West, a woman can scold a man who helps her carry a heavy load, seeing it as an insult to her personality and a violation of her rights. Some women believe that gender equality arises when they behave like men and mimic their manners.

Due to the excessive obsession with gender equality, women and men are losing their natural characteristics inherent in their nature, trying to turn gender equality into genderless equality, while medical science is trying to figure out how transgender women (men who have become women) can gain the ability to give birth.

When such situations arise (I mean Shakhriyar Mammadyarovs interview), I return to Russian theater director Konstantin Bogomolovs manifesto The Abduction of Europe 2.0, which caused many discussions a few years ago. According to the author, the ideology of the new ethics formed by the West forces everyone to speak politically correctly, preventing them from expressing their thoughts, ignoring the complex nature of a person their dark sides and flaws, limiting freedom of feelings, and ultimately creating soulless people without differences and contradictions:

The West declares itself a society oriented toward the realization of personal freedoms. In fact, today the West is waging an ongoing struggle against the human person that complex and difficult to control energy. In the course of this struggle, the functions of the courts and prosecutors and the isolation cell have not been eliminated, and yet they have been largely delegated from the state to society. The state itself, in the form of its police and security services, has indeed been humanized. Meanwhile, the nominally progressive part of society takes on the role of the new storm troopers, and with their help, that selfsame state becomes surpassingly effective at combatting dissent.

Feelings and thoughts had always belonged to the private sphere. Keep your hands to yourself; but as for your heart and your brain these were left free. Such was the unspoken social contract of European civilization. It understood that man is a receptacle full of emotions and ideas; it understood that hatred the flip side of love may be a difficult and dangerous thing, but for all that is something necessary and an important part of the human personality.

In the New Ethical Reich, a person is trained to love and deprived of the right to freely hate.

No longer can you say: I do not love , I do not like , I am afraid of You must get your emotions in line with public opinion and social values.

The new ethics also state that you can think whatever you want inside, but it is forbidden to voice it aloud, and your internal censorship must always be vigilant. You must not make mistakes, and the moment you make a mistake, you will lose everything. Neoliberalism, which does not recognize a persons right to make mistakes or to voice their beliefs, has been giving Shakhriyar Mammadyarov Azerbaijani-style advice in recent days: an intellectual must think a hundred times before speaking, know the weight of his words, and so on.

Shakhriyar Mammadyarov deserves thanks for not weighing his words, for thinking differently, and for voicing his beliefs without fear.

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Gender, equality, and free speech: A look at Mammadyarov's controversial remarks Aze.Media - Aze Media

LETTER: Local government needs to respect free speech – ECM Publishers

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LETTER: Local government needs to respect free speech - ECM Publishers

Journal of Free Speech Law: "Defamatory in Whose Eyes?," by Prof. Kenneth W. Simons – Reason

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The article is here; the abstract:

Defamation is a moral and legal wrong that is distinct from the wrongs of insulting or offending a person, lying to a person, or unjustifiably causing emotional distress. Defamation essentially involves harm or injury to a person's reputation. And reputation is a social concept: It refers to a person's standing in some relevant audience, i.e., the group or community beyond the speaker and the person.

But from whose perspective must a statement be defamatory? This question has multiple dimensions. Is our only interest whether the person's standing is lowered in the eyes of the community? Or should we also consider the perspective of the person who claims to have been defamed? Must that person subjectively view the statement as injuring his or her own reputation? Are we also interested in the perspective of the speaker?

The perspective of the person's group or community is undoubtedly critical, but this prompts additional questions. If only a minority, or even a very small portion, of the community would lower their opinion of the person, while the majority would not, is that sufficient? Moreover, are these further questions descriptive inquiries into how (most, some, or a few) people would react, or instead normative evaluations of how (most, some, or a few) people should react? Or is the most defensible analysis a hybrid or combination of descriptive and normative features?

One possible approach to these questions about the defamatory character of a statement asks whether the statement might cause a reasonable person to lower their esteem of the person. But the reasonable person test is inadequate: It obscures critical questions, including the relative weight we should give to descriptive rather than normative perspectives, to subcommunities as opposed to larger communities, or to the varying perspectives of the plaintiff, the speaker, and the relevant community.

The most plausible approach, I will argue, is a largely descriptive perspective that focuses on the actual reactions of both the plaintiff and the subcommunity with which the plaintiff identifies. Defamation law should reject a purely normative perspective that considers only whether members of the community would be justified in lowering their esteem of the plaintiff if the false statement were true. People frequently criticize and even ostracize others for flimsy, irrational, or illegitimate reasons. Yet the resulting reputational injuries are real, and the conduct that causes them is often highly unjustifiable. However, courts should recognize a narrow normative exception and should exclude liability when providing a defamation remedy would contravene a significant public policy, such as the legal principles condemning discrimination on the basis of race or sexual preference.

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Journal of Free Speech Law: "Defamatory in Whose Eyes?," by Prof. Kenneth W. Simons - Reason

Elon Musk says he won a battle for free speech in court, but it won’t stop the war for social media regulation – The Conversation

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Australias eSafety Commissioner has dropped its Federal Court case against X relating to tweets distributing the footage of the Wakeley church stabbing.

In response to the decision, Xs owner, billionaire Elon Musk, tweeted freedom of speech is worth fighting for.

This case goes to a central question about the operation of Australias Online Safety Act and the powers of the regulator to remove harmful content.

It will no doubt be viewed with interest by other online safety regulators across the world who are also grappling with these issues. That is, how can governments control the distribution of harmful online material within a country when the internet is global? Do global takedowns unfairly limit free speech? Does geo-blocking strike an acceptable balance between restricting harmful content and free speech?

Read more: eSafety commissioner drops court effort to force Elon Musk to put international ban on stabbing video

In April, the eSafety Commissioner issued X with a removal notice instructing it to take all reasonable steps to take down videos of the stabbings. A central consideration in issuing the notice was that the New South Wales Commissioner of Police had described the stabbing as a terrorist incident.

X geo-blocked (blocking content depending on location) the video for Australian audiences but refused to impose a wider global ban. The eSafety Commissioner viewed this as a failure to abide by its removal notice, and commenced proceedings in the Federal Court.

A central question in the case was whether the geo-blocking of material to stop Australian users accessing the content constitutes the taking of all reasonable steps under the legislation when that material is globally available.

In a hearing before the Federal Court in May, the barrister for the Commissioner had stated that in order for X to take all reasonable steps there had to be a global ban. They pointed to the ease of buying a VPN (virtual private network) to avoid the domestic takedown.

The eSafety Commissioner cited the prudent use of public funds as one of the reasons for dropping the case, as it also has other litigation in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Although this is a legitimate consideration, it was also obvious the argument for a global ban on the material was a difficult one to make given that it would operate outside Australia.

While Musk has been calling this a victory, it is only the case for a global ban that has been dropped. The removal notice stands pending Xs review and it may very well be that the geo-blocking will remain. At least in Australia, posting a video of a stabbing may still be treated as beyond accepted community standards.

While the Online Safety Act allows for local authorities to issue an extraterritorial order, whether that extends to issuing a global ban is an open question. Even if a global order can be made under the act, it may not mean much in practice. Countries regulate free speech within their own jurisdictions and take their own position as to what is legitimate free speech and what is harmful content.

A court in another country may take a dim view of a global order and not enforce it in their jurisdiction. But another country may also decide to ban the content under their own laws.

Even though the Federal Court case has been discontinued, the regulation of social media in Australia continues to be a central focus of political and legal debate.

In addition to the litigation between the commissioner and X in other tribunals, there are two major reviews occurring in the next few months: a review of the Online Safety Act and a Parliamentary Inquiry into Social Media. These will examine some of the legal issues that would have been considered by the Federal Court, such as the regulation of harmful content disseminated over social media.

However, it would have been preferable to have a court ruling on these issues, particularly as there is uncertainty about key parts of the Online Safety Act.

Read more: Investigating social media harm is a good idea, but parliament is about to see how complicated it is to fix

Internationally, online safety is also being tested and debated in other countries. For instance, the UK Online Safety Act has been criticised for unduly limiting free speech. These are therefore matters calling for international cooperation.

Looking ahead, it is becoming increasingly apparent the power of tech companies is affecting the ability of safety regulators to constrain their activities. The Australian eSafety Commissioner described X as consistently non-compliant.

Whatever view is taken of the arguments made in the Federal Court case, the power wielded by tech companies and their ability to circumvent Australian law should be a central concern of the Australian government going forward.

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Elon Musk says he won a battle for free speech in court, but it won't stop the war for social media regulation - The Conversation

College students must learn there’s a difference between free speech and violence – Norfolk Daily News

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Were glad to know that numerous colleges are considering suspensions and expulsions for students who vandalized campuses and committed violence at graduation time this spring.

What took place at UCLA, Columbia University, MIT and elsewhere has been well publicized the setting up of encampments by student protestors, often relating to the desire to support Palestinians and rail against Israels efforts to stop Hamas terrorist acts.

Some would describe the protests as examples of free speech. From our perspective, however, they were violent acts showing disregard to law and campus rules.

Jonathan Butcher, a senior research fellow in education policy at The Heritage Foundation, recently wrote that School officials should not have waited as long as they did to call law enforcement, and the rioters who were not students, faculty or college staff should face charges. But administrators also should be considering suspensions and expulsions for students involved.

Campus riots are not anything new, but in the most recent examples of campus unrest dating to 2015 colleges were slow to respond to students and rioters who shouted down professors and invited lecturers. Middlebury College in Vermont is one example of a site where violent shout-downs took place.

Students regurgitated the Marxist slogans from critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as they de-platformed speakersand in some cases, college administrators did not punish students, Mr. Butcher wrote. Predictably, surveys over the last decade have found that many students are afraid to speak their minds on campus for fear of being canceled, shouted down or worse.

Blocking someone elses expressive rights is not a protected form of speech. Yet surveys have found that some on campus approved of violence in the face of ideas with which they disagree. In too many situations on campuses, the message to students was clear: You can be disruptive with minimal or no consequences.

Today, however, students have pushed the bounds even further, creating so much disturbance that some schools were forced to cancel classes and graduation ceremonies because campuses were not physically safe for anyone.

Had school personnel acted decisively during riots over the last 10 years, consistently suspending or expelling violent students, perhaps disrupters would have had second thoughts.

Mr. Butcher writes, State lawmakers should revisit their conduct codes and require public college administrators to involve law enforcement and consider suspension or expulsion when students destroy school property, injure others, violate free-speech protections or otherwise commit violence.

College educators must teach students the difference between free speech and violence. The former deserves protection. The latter should be met with consequences.

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College students must learn there's a difference between free speech and violence - Norfolk Daily News

A chilling effect on the exercise of free speech rights: University of California issues vindictive interim suspensions to … – WSWS

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On Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, the WSWS and International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) are holding an online public meeting, From Wayne State to University of Californiaindustrial workers must oppose protest crackdowns. Register for the meeting here.

Thousands of students across the country and world have participated in protests on college campuses against the US-backed genocide in Gaza. The Biden administration has led a bipartisan police crackdown on campuses, which has resulted in more than 3,000 arrests nationwide. Meanwhile, universities have carried out academic interim suspensions as part of a two-pronged strategy to exert the maximum pressure and make an example out of protestors.

Interim suspensions are severe measures traditionally reserved for students who are a threat to the safety of others on campus. A student is academically suspended and immediately banned from all university property and facilities. Receiving an interim suspension often results in a domino effect that entails the loss of access to dorms, causing homelessness; loss of access to campus health centers and pharmacies; cutting off healthcare and prescription medication. In the case of foreign students their academic visas can be revoked, which may result in deportation since their immigration status is dependent upon being actively enrolled in a specific university.

The number of interim suspensions have skyrocketed in the last two months and are coupled with the denial of due process. While there have been dozens of campuses carrying out the punishing suspensions, there is a particular large concentration in the University of California system, where the crackdowns provoked strike action by academic workers. Walkouts are currently taking place at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, and UCLA, with campuses in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Irvine joining the strike this week.

Last month, UC San Diego began issuing interim suspensions to students for simply being seen at the encampments. According to the UCSD Guardian, student and Assistant Vice President of the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Leticia Guzman, received notice of an interim suspension on May 2. The previous person who held that position, Cristian Fuentes Hernandez, received notice of interim suspension soon after, on May 5.

The email notifying them of their suspensions explained that the university had obtained information that they were present at the encampment that violates university policy, and that, The information described above, if true, provides cause to believe that your continued presence at UC San Diego is reasonably likely to lead to physical harm to any person or property, threats of violence, conduct that threatens the health or safety of any person, or other disruptive activity incompatible with the orderly operation of the campus.

The following day, on May 6, around 200 police officers aggressively raided the encampment using pepper spray and arresting more than 60 people, 40 of whom were students. In making clear their endorsement of this police crackdown, UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said, UC San Diego encourages and allows peaceful protests, but this encampment violated campus policy and the law, and grew to pose an unacceptable risk to the safety of the campus community.

Immediately following this attack, UCSD announced that every one of the 40 students that were arrested would face an automatic interim suspension, in addition to the other interim suspensions quietly handed out to students for simply being present at the encampment. In contrast, only 16 interim suspensions were handed out all of last year.

The 60 arrested faced charges of unlawful assembly, with 39 charged with unauthorized encroachment on public land, 34 charged with resisting arrest, 17 charged for violating UC San Diego curfew laws, and four with camping on university property.

Sukham Sidhu, with The Office of Student Advocacy at UC San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times, You very rarely see these interim suspension casesThe only times Ive seen it imposed are in cases of physical assault. Sidhu noted that a number of interim suspensions did not relate to any arrests. The very first one I heard about, the student was just seen entering the encampment and theres no evidence they stayed there When I heard they were interim suspended for that, I was like, What?!

On May 8, UCI issued their first round of interim suspensions that banned students from all campus facilities including housing. The suspension notices referred to generic violations of university policy such as disruption, but none of them contained any specific allegations about any individual students behavior, according to a letter issued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last Friday to UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman.

The letter outlined the punitive issuance of interim suspension issued to students for having only administrative associations with clubs involved in the protests.

The University, on May 8, also imposed administrative holds upon recipients of the interim suspension notices for the student organizations, i.e., authorized signers for those organizations whose names appeared on student organization paperwork, casting doubt on their ability to continue in their academic programs and receive a degree until the holds are lifted.

On May 15, the UCI encampment was raided by police and more than 30 students and faculty were arrested. According to the ACLU letter, following this the University issued Penal Code 626.4 withdrawal of consent orders against some, but not all, of the more than 30 students, staff, and faculty who were arrested. Those orders banned students from returning to campus, including to their University housing, for either 7 or 14 days. On May 21, the University then issued another round of interim suspensions against students who were arrested on May 15, 2024.

Elliot Yu was among the dozens of UCI students arrested on May 15. In a video posted to the United Auto Workers (UAW) social media page, he described: For about six hours my wrists were cuffed in zip ties that were so tight they dug into my flesh and cut off circulation. My hands swelled up so much that when the police eventually tried to cut them off they struggled to fit the scissors in between my wrists and the cuffs.

Yu went on to describe his interim suspension, After I got out of jail I was told that I was banned from campus and my apartment. Since I live on campus, a campus ban acts as a same day eviction notice. Im not the only person who lost both their housing and the full function of their hands. This is only one example of how the UCs brutal response to peaceful protests has harmed hundreds of students and workers across the state.

The ACLU letter makes clear the interim suspensions are a dangerous attack on the democratic rights of students. Because the interim suspensions took effect prior to any hearing or other opportunity for students to respond to allegations against them, they fail to comport with the most basic due process requirements, the civil liberties organization states. This premature punishment is therefore likely to have a chilling effect on the exercise of free speech rights on campus.

The University compounded the potential chill when it decided to rely upon the criminal legal system in addition to its own disciplinary mechanisms, by initially subjecting some students who were present at a May 15 protest to Penal Code 626.4 withdrawal of consent orders that ban them from every area of campus including even their own University housing before interim suspensions were issued. Finally, we are concerned by reports that several students have received administrative holds merely because their names were on student organization paperwork, and not because there are any allegations against them specifically. If true, these holds are punishing students for their association with student organizations and the viewpoints expressed by those organizations, in violation of federal and state free speech protections.

The assault on democratic rights is being directed by the Biden administration with the full support of the Republicans who are leading a witch-hunting campaign in the House Education Committee to smear protestors as antisemitic and pressuring officials to bring the full weight of the law against protesters. The universities have had no issue complying as the institutions serve the interests of Wall Street and are deeply integrated in the military intelligence apparatus.

The UC Regents and chancellors themselves represent administrators across all campuses who have longstanding and clear ties to military contractors, weapons manufacturers and intelligence agencies. Richard Leib, the current Chair of the UC Board of Regents, is a businessman with a long history in charter schools, consultancy, and military and intelligence agencies. He was an executive at US Public Technologies, which was acquired in 1999 by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, where he continued as an executive.

The UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering boasts the Contextual Robotics Institute, which is sponsored by Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, General Dynamics, SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command), Air Force Office of Scientific Research, US Army Research Laboratory, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), US Department of Defense, US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Office of Naval Research and Lockheed Martin.

Pradeep Khosla, UCSDs chancellor, previously worked with DARPA on the Senior Advisory Group for Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systemsalso known as drones. In 2016, Khosla joined the executive board of Avigilon Corporation of Vancouver, a leading company using facial recognition and body movement technology to help police identify suspects.

In 2016, the UC Board of Regents, which at that time was led by Janet Napolitano, ex-chief of Homeland Security under Obama, sanctioned a secret spyware system capable of monitoring and collecting data from all individuals within the networks of the ten UC campuses and five medical centers throughout California.

At the time, the WSWS warned, Napolitano and the UCOP insist that the aggregated data [from the spyware system] will not be used for non-security purposes. However, it is not difficult to imagine a situation in which student protests and strikes for higher wages are easily categorized as security purposes by the UC administration. Additionally, the security policy makes an exception to disclose the personal data for those considered to be engaged in illegal activity.

The university system is a key player in the military intelligence apparatus and Wall Street. UCs deep connections to war abroad and repression at home explains why they have played such a central role in the political assault on free speech and democratic rights.

Student demands for university divestment from the US and Israeli war machines are certainly legitimate. But the fact remains that protests isolated to the campuses and appeals to the powers that be cannot stop the genocide in Gaza and the even more horrific wars for global domination by US imperialism, including with nuclear armed Russia and China.

For that the working class must directly intervene. The UC strike is an important step forward in the entry of the working class as political force to stop war and repression. But the strike is being sabotaged by the United Auto Workers bureaucracy, which is aligned with the Biden administration and is doing everything it can to isolate and wear down the UC strikers.

Academic workers, graduate, undergraduate students and faculty must build their own Rank-and-File Strike Committees to shut down the entire UC system, and appeal to all UAW members and all workers to carry out collective action to halt the assault on students and stop the war. This includes strike action by members of the UAW, the International Association of Machinists and unions at automotive, defense and other industrial factories.

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A chilling effect on the exercise of free speech rights: University of California issues vindictive interim suspensions to ... - WSWS

For first time in 50 years, Stanford faculty approve free speech statement – The College Fix

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Stanford University scholars recently recommitted themselves to the principles of free speech and freedom of expression in a new statement that updates, reaffirms and complements a Statement on Academic Freedom first passed 50 years ago, in 1974, according to the Stanford Report.

The move comes thanks in part to the work of an Ad Hoc Committee on University Speech, formed last year to address several free speech and academic freedom controversies at the school, including a Protected Identity Harm reporting system deemed Orwellian by many observers and a13-page Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative discouraging the use of more than 125 mostly innocuous words, includingAmerican.

In 2022, longtime Stanford Professor of Medicine Jay Bhattacharya declaredacademic freedom is dead in retelling how his institution systematically abandoned him for his contrarian views on COVID. The elite institution also made headlines after a mob of students, aided by a DEI dean at the time, shouted down a federal judge during a guest lecture in 2023. Most recently, the school has been plagued with accusations of rampant antisemitism.

The school continues to be embroiled in controversies. For example, more than one third of Stanford University students say using physical violence to stop a speech is acceptable in at least some circumstances, according to a survey released earlier this year.

The Faculty Senate, after much debate, approved last week a statement that aims to address some of those problems.

The freedom to explore and present new, unconventional, and even unpopular ideas is essential to the academic mission of the university; therefore, Stanford shall promote the widest possible freedom of expression, consistent with the universitys legal and moral obligations to prevent harassment and discrimination. Accordingly, university policies must not censor individuals speech based on the content of what is expressed, except in narrow circumstances, it reads in part.

At the same time, Stanfords educational role as well as its academic and legal obligations differ across locations and contexts on campus, such as spaces open to all community members, classrooms, and dormitories. Community members also have varying privileges and responsibilities in different contexts, it adds.

Likewise, legal rights and obligations pertain in different ways to community members depending on whether they are acting as students, teachers, staff, or faculty members. The principles of freedom of speech and expression will be understood in light of these variations across contexts and roles. The campus disruption policy furnishes an example of how some of these distinctions may be drawn.

The free speech statement is non-binding, as scholars had talked it down from a policy, according to the Stanford Report.

The Faculty Senate also approved an Institutional Statements Policy, which calls for institutional restraint in making statements and aims to prevent the establishment of institutional orthodoxy that might chill dissent, the Stanford Report added.

The policy, which applies to leadership, vice provosts, and deans, among others, states that when speaking for the institution, Stanford University leaders and administrators should not express an opinion on political and social controversies, unless these matters directly affect the mission of the university or implicate its legal obligations.

MORE: Embattled Stanford Professor of Medicine Jay Bhattacharya: Academic freedom is dead

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For first time in 50 years, Stanford faculty approve free speech statement - The College Fix

Slingshot Aerospace and DARPA’s AI Spy Satellite Solution, Agatha – Payload

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Slingshot Aerospace is partnering with DARPA on a high-stakes game of orbital I Spy.

Today, the startup unveiled Agatha, an AI tool to spot nefarious satellites lurking in constellationsa task that becomes more difficult in clouds of thousands of sats.

School days: Tools like Agatha are only as good as the data used to train them. Slingshot trained Agatha by feeding it computer-generated data from 30 constellations over a two-year life span, including some nefarious data.

In addition to the made-up practice data, Agatha also learned from real-world constellations. If Agatha detected a satellite that had a hardware malfunction within a large constellation, Slingshot would contact the owner to verify that the constellations Agatha detected were indeed outliers.

We cant have real training data for AI algorithms. So we can make those synthetically and we can make whole constellations. And more than that, we also make all of the sensors that detect those constellations and all of the error that happens in the real world, Dylan Kesler, Slingshots director of data science, told Payload.

One of these things is not like the others: In large constellations, all the satellites are the same size and weight and behave nearly identically. Agatha spots outliers by detecting changes in how often and where communication is distributed. At that point, a human enters the loop to determine if that is an intentional difference by the satellite owner, or if it truly is a nefarious satellite.

Whats next: Agatha is searching for operational customers. We are running a version of Agatha within the Slingshot platform, and were talking to a number of different US government and commercial organizations about how they can use Agatha as part of our advanced space domain awareness services, Audrey Schaffer, Slingshots VP of strategy and policy, said.

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Slingshot Aerospace and DARPA's AI Spy Satellite Solution, Agatha - Payload