The importance of space-based research on improving lives
Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach College of Arts & Sciences
The COAS prepares students for successful careers in industry, government and public service.
A common argument against spending money on space-based research is that it is a waste of money - considering the many problems we have right here on Earth. There are many counterarguments to this line of reasoning, such as that the money spend on space is really a drop in the bucket compared to what is spend on many other things in government (NASA funding is a mere 0.3% of the US budget). Another argument, the one I want to talk about here, is that doing research in and on space can inform us about “Earthly concerns” in a unique way. While we are all familiar with satellites that monitor drought, weapons proliferation, or climate change, fewer of us may be familiar with the impact that space-based research has on human health and medicine.
In a recent “package” of papers across several Nature publications1, an international group of top researchers, including researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and its unique Aerospace Physiology group2, published a broad range of studies on the effects of radiation and microgravity on the human body. This included effects on almost all organ and cellular systems in the body, including hormonal, kidney, muscle, immune system, and skin changes. These changes can resemble a premature aging processes as the body is put under the stress of spaceflight. This research therefore has two-fold implications: How do we protect spacefaring humans from these impacts, and what can we learn from these effects about the natural aging process?
Aging is something we (unfortunately) encounter and experience every day, but the reasons for why and how we age continue to be the subject of vigorous scientific debate. Most people accept that aging is simply the process of wear and tear. But it is not that simple: Humans have the capability of replacing damaged biomolecules and cells in their body. Why can’t this repair go on indefinitely?
The reasons seem to lie in the mindboggling complexity of the human body – which is a system of systems of systems, run ultimately by nanoscale molecular machinery3. For perfect function, all these processes and systems need to perform at optimal efficiency. Aging is a gradual loss of optimal function across many interlocking systems, which express themselves in what is called “the hallmarks of aging.4”? These hallmarks include instability in the genome (loss of DNA repair), dysfunction of mitochondria (loss of energy supply in cells), loss of immune function etc. These changes lead to less and less resilience, capability of repair and thus cause vulnerability. This is summarized in the scientific concept of frailty, which can be clinically quantified.
Research on humans and mice has now shown that the stressors of spaceflight can induce markers of frailty prematurely5, therefore providing us with another avenue to better understand aging and find possible approaches to mitigate its effects.
Peter Hoffmann , Dean, College of Arts ands Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University , Daytona Beach, Florida
领英推荐
3 Peter M. Hoffmann, “Life’s Ratchet“, Basic Books, 2012
4 López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell. 2023 Jan 19; 186(2): 243-278. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001.