Life Sciences in Space Research最新文献

{"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,&nbsp;Yuhao Qin,&nbsp;Weiwei Pei,&nbsp;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,&nbsp;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}

{"title":"Space radiation research with heavy ions at HIMAC","authors":"Satoshi Kodaira ,&nbsp;Eric Benton ,&nbsp;Yoshiyuki Iwata ,&nbsp;Takahiro Makino ,&nbsp;Jack Miller ,&nbsp;Takeshi Ohshima ,&nbsp;Yukio Uchihori ,&nbsp;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}

{"title":"Bioregenerative dietary supplementation in space: Brassica rapa var. nipposinica and other Brassica cultivars","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2023.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2023.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Despite the precise environmental manipulation enabled by controlled environment agriculture (CEA), plant genotype remains a key factor in producing desirable traits. <em>Brassica rapa</em> var. <em>nipposinica</em> (mizuna) is a leading candidate for supplementing deficiencies in the space diet, however, which cultivar of mizuna will respond best to the environment of the international space station (ISS) is unknown. It is also unclear if there are more inter-varietal (mizuna - mustards) or intra-varietal (mizuna - mizuna) differences in response to the ISS environment. Twenty-two cultivars of mustard greens, including 13 cultivars of mizuna, were grown under ISS-like conditions to determine which would provide the greatest yield and highest concentrations of carotenoids, anthocyanins, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, ascorbic acid, thiamine, and phylloquinone. The experiment was conducted thrice, and data were analyzed to determine which cultivar is most suited for further optimization of space-based cultivation. It was found that phylloquinone and β-carotene concentrations did not vary between cultivars, while all other metrics of interest showed some variation. ‘Amara’ mustard (<em>B. carinata</em>) provided the best overall nutritional profile, despite its low biomass yield of 36.8 g, producing concentrations of 27.85, 0.40, and 0.65 mg·<em>g</em> ⁻ ¹ of ascorbic acid, thiamine, and lutein, respectively. Of the mizuna cultivars evaluated, open pollinated mibuna provided the best profile, while 'Red Hybrid’ mizuna provided a complimentary profile to that of ‘Amara’, minimally increasing dietary iron while providing beneficial anthocyanins lacking in ‘Amara’.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 140-147"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552423000846/pdfft?md5=d4cefc51a6af872eeb753e0507f717ab&pid=1-s2.0-S2214552423000846-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139029252","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":"Organ dose equivalents of albedo protons and neutrons under exposure to large solar particle events during lunar human landing missions","authors":"Sungmin Pak ,&nbsp;Francis A. Cucinotta","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.07.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2024.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Astronauts participating in lunar landing missions will encounter exposure to albedo particles emitted from the lunar surface as well as primary high-energy particles in the spectra of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and solar particle events (SPEs). While existing studies have examined particle energy spectra and absorbed doses in limited radiation exposure scenarios on and near the Moon, comprehensive research encompassing various shielding amounts and large SPEs on the lunar surface remains lacking. Additionally, detailed organ dose equivalents of albedo particles in a human model on the lunar surface have yet to be investigated. This work assesses the organ dose equivalents of albedo neutrons and albedo protons during historically large SPEs in August 1972 and September 1989 utilizing realistic computational anthropomorphic human phantom for the first time. Dosimetric quantities within human organs have been evaluated based on the PHITS Monte Carlo simulation results and quality factors of the state-of-the-art NASA Space Cancer Risk (NSCR) model, as well as ICRP publications. The results with the NSCR model indicate that the albedo contribution to organ dose equivalent is less than 3 % for 1 g/cm² aluminum shielding, while it increases to more than 30 % in some organs for 50 g/cm² aluminum shielding during exposure to low-energy-proton-rich SPEs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 133-139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141605827","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":"Integrated analysis of miRNAome and transcriptome reveals that microgravity induces the alterations of critical functional gene modules via the regulation of miRNAs in short-term space-flownC. elegans","authors":"Xinye He ,&nbsp;Lei Zhao ,&nbsp;Baohang Huang ,&nbsp;Ge Zhang ,&nbsp;Ye Lu ,&nbsp;Dong Mi ,&nbsp;Yeqing Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.07.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2024.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microgravity, as a unique hazardous factor encountered in space, can induce a series of harmful effects on living organisms. The impact of microgravity on the pivotal functional gene modules stemming from gene enrichment analysis via the regulation of miRNAs is not fully illustrated. To explore the microgravity-induced alterations in critical functional gene modules via the regulation of miRNAs, in the present study, we proposed a novel bioinformatics algorithm for the integrated analysis of miRNAome and transcriptome from short-term space-flown <em>C. elegans</em>. The samples of <em>C. elegans</em> were exposed to two space conditions, namely spaceflight (SF) and spaceflight control (SC) onboard the International Space Station for 4 days. Additionally, the samples of ground control (GC) were included for comparative analysis. Using the present algorithm, we constructed regulatory networks of functional gene modules annotated from differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their associated regulatory differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs). The results showed that functional gene modules of molting cycle, defense response, fatty acid metabolism, lysosome, and longevity regulating pathway were facilitated by 25 down-regulated DEmiRNAs (e.g., cel-miR-792, cel-miR-65, cel-miR-70, cel-lsy-6, cel-miR-796, etc.) in the SC vs. GC groups, whereas these modules were inhibited by 13 up-regulated DEmiRNAs (e.g., cel-miR-74, cel-miR-229, cel-miR-70, cel-miR-249, cel-miR-85, etc.) in the SF vs. GC groups. These findings indicated that microgravity could significantly alter gene expression patterns and their associated functional gene modules in short-term space-flown <em>C. elegans</em>. Additionally, we identified 34 miRNAs as post-transcriptional regulators that modulated these functional gene modules under microgravity conditions. Through the experimental verification, our results demonstrated that microgravity could induce the down-regulation of five critical functional gene modules (i.e., molting cycle, defense response, fatty acid metabolism, lysosome, and longevity regulating pathways) via the regulation of miRNAs in short-term space-flown <em>C. elegans</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 117-132"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141582748","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":"Cultivation and nutritional characteristics of Chlorella vulgaris cultivated using Martian regolith and synthetic urine","authors":"Mattia Casula ,&nbsp;Giacomo Fais ,&nbsp;Cristina Manis ,&nbsp;Paola Scano ,&nbsp;Cyprien Verseux ,&nbsp;Alessandro Concas ,&nbsp;Giacomo Cao ,&nbsp;Pierluigi Caboni","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Long-term spatial missions will require sustainable methods for biomass production using locally available resources. This study investigates the feasibility of cultivating <em>Chlorella vulgaris</em>, a high value microalgal specie, using a leachate of Martian regolith and synthetic human urine as nutrient sources. The microalga was grown in a standard medium (BBM) mixed with 0, 20, 40, 60, or 100 % Martian medium (MM). MM did not significantly affect final biomass concentrations. Total carbohydrate and protein contents decreased with increasing MM fractions between 0 % and 60 %, but biomass in the 100% MM showed the highest levels of carbohydrates and proteins (25.2 ± 0.9 % and 37.1 ± 1.4 % of the dry weight, respectively, against 19.0 ± 1.7 % and 32.0 ± 2.7 % in the absence of MM). In all MM-containing media, the fraction of the biomass represented by total lipids was lower (by 3.2 to 4.5%) when compared to BBM. Conversely, total carotenoids increased, with the highest value (97.3 ± 1.5 mg/100 g) measured with 20% MM. In a three-dimensional principal component analysis of triacylglycerols, samples clustered according to growth media; a strong impact of growth media on triacylglycerol profiles was observed. Overall, our findings suggest that microalgal biomass produced using regolith and urine can be used as a valuable component of astronauts’ diet during missions to Mars.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 108-116"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552424000658/pdfft?md5=ab29673c8bc23f8200a7555d4eb65881&pid=1-s2.0-S2214552424000658-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141487062","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":"Impedance threshold device as a countermeasure for spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS): Mitigating mechanisms in proposed pathophysiology","authors":"Mohammed Tayyib Masood ,&nbsp;Jen-Wei (Willy) Wang ,&nbsp;Eleni Angeliki Zoumi ,&nbsp;Kinshuk Jain ,&nbsp;Alex Suh ,&nbsp;Joshua Ong ,&nbsp;Ethan Waisberg ,&nbsp;Mouayad Masalkhi ,&nbsp;Andrew G. Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lssr.2024.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Long-duration spaceflight (LDSF) is associated with unique hazards and linked with numerous human health risks including Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). The proposed mechanisms for SANS include microgravity induced cephalad fluid shift and increased Intracranial Pressure (ICP). SANS is a disorder seen only after LDSF and has no direct terrestrial pathologic counterpart as the zero G environment cannot be completely replicated on Earth. Head-down tilt, bed rest studies however have been used as a terrestrial analog and produce the cephalad fluid shift. Some proposed countermeasures for SANS include vasoconstrictive thigh cuffs and lower body negative pressure. Another potential researched countermeasure is the impedance threshold device (ITD) which can reduce ICP. We review the mechanisms of the ITD and its potential use as a countermeasure for SANS.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":18029,"journal":{"name":"Life Sciences in Space Research","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 99-107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141410381","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}