Kirill A. Grigorev , Jack Miller , Livio Narici , Sylvain V. Costes
{"title":"RadLab: An open science resource for radiation studies relevant to human spaceflight","authors":"Kirill A. Grigorev , Jack Miller , Livio Narici , Sylvain V. Costes","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In response to the growing need of the space life sciences community for a publicly available single access point for radiation physics data relevant to human space exploration, an open data repository and analysis platform, RadLab, has been developed. RadLab consists of a database and a user-friendly data retrieval, visualization, and analysis toolkit, including a graphical user interface (GUI) and an application programming interface (API). RadLab complements the space biology data in the NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) and aims to provide open, centralized access to radiation physics data relevant to spaceflight. Analysis tools contained in RadLab will facilitate intercomparison among different detectors and radiation data sets to better understand the radiation environment in spacecraft and planetary habitats, and facilitate the use of space radiation data by space biology investigators and radiation instrument developers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 29-34"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reprint of: From the desk of the Editor-in-Chief","authors":"Tom K. Hei","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Page 3"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Richard A. Britten , Arriyam S. Fesshaye , Alyssa Tidmore , Ella N. Tamgue , Paola A. Alvarado-Arriaga
{"title":"Different spectrum of space radiation induced cognitive impairments in radiation-naïve and adapted rats","authors":"Richard A. Britten , Arriyam S. Fesshaye , Alyssa Tidmore , Ella N. Tamgue , Paola A. Alvarado-Arriaga","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>NASA's decision to resume manned deep space mission, first to the Moon and then Mars, necessitated a detailed assessment of the potential health effects that astronauts may experience on long-duration missions. Multiple studies suggest that there may be significant space radiation (SR)-induced impairment of neurocognitive processes, including advanced executive functions. However, given the multitude of SR-induced changes in the CNS, it is possible that completely different SR-induced sequelae will be induced in previously exposed individuals. Thus, current risk estimates are likely to be pertinent only for the early stages of a deep space mission, and even then only for astronauts that have no previous experience in space.</div><div>In this study, rats that maintained high attentional set shifting (ATSET) performance after an initial exposure to 10 cGy of SR (either 250 MeV/n He or GCRsim), were exposed to an additional dose of 10 cGy GCRsim and their ATSET performance reassessed. The re-irradiated rats exhibited significant impairment of ATSET performance, however, the performance decrements differed in two important aspects from those typically observed after single exposures. First, the decrements were manifested when the rats were required to perform set shifting, specifically in the IDR and EDS stages of the ATSET test. Secondly, the main performance decrement was in a loss of processing speed, which in the IDR stage resulted in the re-irradiated rats taking 2-fold more time to solve the problem than did Sham rats. The functional consequence of this decrement was that compared to Sham rats, 20 % fewer SR-exposed rats solved the IDS and EDR problems within 20 s.</div><div>These data suggests that prior SR exposure alters nature of ATSET impairments from that observed in radiation-naïve individuals. Risk estimates derived from studies that use radiation naïve rats may thus not fully reflect the incidence and nature of ATSET performance deficits that could occur over the entire duration of a mission to Mars, or in astronauts who return to deep space on multiple occasions. It would thus be germane to conduct in-flight monitoring for cognitive performance decrements observed in both radiation naïve and exposed rats during the mission, and ensure that the crew has sufficient overlapping skill sets to minimize the operational impact of these additional cognitive impairments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 68-74"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shengli Zhang , Shenke Zhang , Zhen Wang , Takuya Adachi , Yukari Yoshida , Akihisa Takahashi
{"title":"Disparity in the effect of partial gravity simulated using a new apparatus on different rat hindlimb muscles","authors":"Shengli Zhang , Shenke Zhang , Zhen Wang , Takuya Adachi , Yukari Yoshida , Akihisa Takahashi","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The days of returning to the Moon and landing on Mars are approaching. These long-duration missions present significant challenges, such as changes in gravity, which pose serious threats to human health. Maintaining muscle function and health is essential for successful spaceflight and exploration of the Moon and Mars. This study aimed to observe the adaptation of rat hindlimb muscles to partial gravity conditions by simulating the gravity of space (microgravity (µ<em>G</em>)), Moon (1/6<em>G</em>), and Mars (3/8<em>G</em>) using our recently invented ground-based apparatus. A total of 25 rats were included in this study. The rats were divided into five groups: control (1<em>G</em>), sham (1<em>G</em>), simulated Mars (3/8<em>G</em>), simulated Moon (1/6<em>G</em>), and simulated Space (µ<em>G</em>). Muscle mass, fiber proportion, and fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) of four types of hindlimb muscles were measured: gastrocnemius (GA), tibialis anterior (TA), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), soleus (Sol). Sol and GA exhibited the most significant alterations in response to the changes in gravity after 10 days of the experiment. A notable decline in muscle mass was observed in the simulated µ<em>G</em>, Moon, and Mars groups, with the µ<em>G</em> group exhibiting the most noticeable decline. In Sol, a noteworthy decline in the proportion of slow-twitch type I fibers, CSA of slow-twitch type I fibers, and average CSA of the whole muscle fibers was observed in the simulated groups. The GA red, mixed, and white portions were examined, and the GA mixed portion showed significant differences in fiber proportion and CSA. A notable increase in the proportion of slow-twitch type I fibers was observed in the simulated groups, with a significant decrease in CSA of type IIb. In EDL or TA, no discernible changes in muscle mass, fiber proportion, or fiber CSA were observed in any of the five groups. These findings indicate that weight-bearing muscles, such as Sol and GA, are more sensitive to changes in partial gravity. Furthermore, partial gravity is insufficient to preserve the normal physiological and functional properties of the hindlimb muscles. Therefore, targeted muscle interventions are required to ensure astronauts' health and mission success. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate the viability and durability of our ground-based apparatus for partial gravity simulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 54-67"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142212542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiao Wen Mao, Michael J Pecaut, Seta Stanbouly, Gregory Nelson
{"title":"Oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and the blood-brain barrier biomarkers on the brain response to spaceflight","authors":"Xiao Wen Mao, Michael J Pecaut, Seta Stanbouly, Gregory Nelson","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prolonged spaceflight can induce physiologic and pathologic abnormalities in the central nervous system (CNS). Our knowledge of the adaptive and/or detrimental effects of spaceflight on the structure and function of the nervous system is limited. Substantial effort has been devoted to identifying and developing reliable indicators to characterize and predict CNS injury and dysfunction associated with prolonged exposure to major components of the space environment including microgravity, physiological/psychological stress, and radiation from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPEs) outside of low earth orbit (LEO). The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a semi-permeable membrane that is essential to maintain homeostasis of the brain microenvironment. Oxidative stress or other environmental stressors may disrupt BBB integrity and increase permeability leading to immune cell infiltration and undesirable neuroinflammation. The focus of this review article is on BBB damage associated with spaceflight and space radiation in rodent and human studies. We will highlight potential biomarkers for this damage, including site-specific and circulating neuroinflammatory factors, BBB structural and brain parenchyma proteins, and neuroimaging tools for BBB damage evaluation. These knowledge will help to understand the risks associated with space travel and are also critical for novel countermeasure development to mitigate the space flight risk to astronaut performances.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 22-28"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142212534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Astrochemistry: The study of chemical processes in space","authors":"Ankan Das","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The formation of our solar system occurred approximately 4.6 billion years ago as a result of the gravitational collapse of a small portion of a giant molecular cloud. The origin of life on Earth is yet to be fully understood. Astrochemistry plays a crucial role in unraveling this mystery. It is an interdisciplinary field that mainly encompasses astronomy and astrophysics, focusing on studying molecules in the universe and their interactions with radiation. A substantial portion of the universe can be called the “Molecular Universe.” These molecules serve as valuable diagnostic tracers in the regions where they are observed. Recent progress in observational, experimental, and computational facilities has significantly enhanced our understanding of the molecular universe. This review aims to delve into this captivating field’s current state of the art.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 43-53"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From the desk of the editor-in-chief:","authors":"Tom K. Hei","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent progresses on space life science research in China","authors":"Xiangyu Kong, Yuhao Qin, Weiwei Pei, Guangming Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the past decades, China has made significant progress on space life science research. Since completing the construction of the China Space Station (CSS) at the end of 2022, space life science research in China has entered a new era. Through carrying out numerous experiments on space life sciences, space medicine, and space agriculture conducted aboard the Shenzhou series, the CSS, and ground-based space environment simulation platforms, Chinese scientists have uncovered the effects of the space environment on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of live organisms. These findings provide essential theoretical support for long-term manned space exploration. In this article, we review the new discoveries made by Chinese researchers, focusing on the impacts of both actual and simulated space environment on cells, microorganisms, plants, animals, and human health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 35-42"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142622818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydroponics for plant cultivation in space – a white paper","authors":"Karl H. Hasenstein, Nicholas M. Miklave","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The microgravity conditions experienced in space prevent the proper distribution of water throughout root modules of plant growth hardware, and the lack of convective mixing and buoyancy reduces gas exchange. To overcome this problem, cultivation technologies should be designed that take advantage of the unique traits of the spaceflight environment instead of attempting to recreate Earth-like conditions. Such technologies should be adaptable to both the microgravity of spaceflight and the low gravity environments of the lunar and Martian surface. Current space plant cultivation relies on traditional terrestrial practices and uses porous substrates that are nutrient poor and difficult to regenerate, and does not consider the dominance of surface- or thermal gradient-controlled rather than gravity-controlled water flow in space as a potential beneficial property. We propose systems that control water dispensation and removal by parallel but independent means in a soil-free cultivation system that is adaptable and expandable to crops of varying sizes and shallow or deep rooting plants. Water dispensation and removal in a substrate-free hydroponic system can be achieved through the misting of nutrient solutions combined with special root module geometry and temperature gradients. The use of hydrogels as substrate, and a means of providing required nutrients and water for plant cultivation in space, can aid in the transition to low-gravity systems by eventual incorporation of on-site regolith to establish Earth-like soil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 13-21"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141506741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Satoshi Kodaira , Eric Benton , Yoshiyuki Iwata , Takahiro Makino , Jack Miller , Takeshi Ohshima , Yukio Uchihori , Cary Zeitlin
{"title":"Space radiation research with heavy ions at HIMAC","authors":"Satoshi Kodaira , Eric Benton , Yoshiyuki Iwata , Takahiro Makino , Jack Miller , Takeshi Ohshima , Yukio Uchihori , Cary Zeitlin","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.08.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The HIMAC (Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba) was originally designed principally for carbon ion therapy, but heavy ion research projects in medicine, physics, chemistry and biology have been conducted under a collaborative research framework since 1994. One major application is space radiation research. The radiation in space of greatest interest for human space exploration consists of energetic protons and heavy ions which can affect the health of space crew and lead to the failure of electronic devices. Ground-based experiments at heavy ion accelerators are crucial for ensuring mission crew safety and for understanding the biological effects of long-term exposure to space radiation. HIMAC provides a range of linear energy transfer (LET) beams from protons to Xe ions at energies up to 800 MeV/u, representing the most biologically-significant components of the space radiation field. At HIMAC a variety of radiation detectors and instruments are characterized and calibrated for dosimetry using specific mono-energetic heavy ion beams, the performance of shielding materials for mitigating space radiation dose is evaluated, radiation hardness of electronic devices is tested to ensure their safe operation in space, and the radiobiological studies are conducted to understand biological effects in humans during long-term space activities. HIMAC is an indispensable simulator of space radiation for the new decade of space exploration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 4-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142212533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}