npj Microgravity最新文献

{"title":"Space Analogs and Behavioral Health Performance Research review and recommendations checklist from ESA Topical Team.","authors":"Gabriel G De la Torre, Gernot Groemer, Ana Diaz-Artiles, Nathalie Pattyn, Jeroen Van Cutsem, Michaela Musilova, Wieslaw Kopec, Stefan Schneider, Vera Abeln, Tricia Larose, Fabio Ferlazzo, Pierpaolo Zivi, Alexandra de Carvalho, Gro Mjeldheim Sandal, Leszek Orzechowski, Michel Nicolas, Rebecca Billette de Villemeur, Anne Pavy-Le Traon, Ines Antunes","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00437-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00437-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Space analog research has increased over the last few years with new analogs appearing every year. Research in this field is very important for future real mission planning, selection and training of astronauts. Analog environments offer specific characteristics that resemble to some extent the environment of a real space mission. These analog environments are especially interesting from the psychological point of view since they allow the investigation of mental and social variables in very similar conditions to those occurring during real space missions. Analog missions also represent an opportunity to test operational work and obtain information on which combination of processes and team dynamics are most optimal for completing specific aspects of the mission. A group of experts from a European Space Agency (ESA) funded topical team reviews the current situation of topic, potentialities, gaps, and recommendations for appropriate research. This review covers the different domains in space analog research including classification, main areas of behavioral health performance research in these environments and operational aspects. We also include at the end, a section with a list or tool of recommendations in the form of a checklist for the scientific community interested in doing research in this field. This checklist can be useful to maintain optimal standards of methodological and scientific quality, in addition to identifying topics and areas of special interest.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"98"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11494059/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surface tension enables induced pluripotent stem cell culture in commercially available hardware during spaceflight.","authors":"Maedeh Mozneb, Madelyn Arzt, Pinar Mesci, Dylan M N Martin, Stephany Pohlman, George Lawless, Shankini Doraisingam, Sultan Al Neyadi, Rayyanah Barnawi, Ali Al Qarni, Peggy A Whitson, John Shoffner, Jana Stoudemire, Stefanie Countryman, Clive N Svendsen, Arun Sharma","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00435-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-024-00435-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has emerged as a unique environment for evaluating altered stem cell properties in microgravity. LEO has become increasingly accessible for research and development due to progress in private spaceflight. Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) was launched as the second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Frozen human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the SOX2 promoter, as well as fibroblasts differentiated from SOX2-GFP hiPSCs, were sent to the ISS. Astronauts then thawed and seeded both cell types into commercially available 96-well plates, which provided surface tension that reduced fluid movement out of individual wells and showed that hiPSCs or hiPSC-derived fibroblasts could survive either in suspension or attached to a Matrigel substrate. Furthermore, both cell types could be transfected with red fluorescent protein (RFP)-expressing plasmid. We demonstrate that hiPSCs and hiPSC-fibroblasts can be thawed in microgravity in off-the-shelf, commercially-available cell culture hardware, can associate into 3D spheroids or grow adherently in Matrigel, and can be transfected with DNA. This lays the groundwork for future biomanufacturing experiments in space.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"97"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11473755/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perspectives on the physics of late-type stars from beyond low earth orbit, the moon and mars.","authors":"Savita Mathur, Ângela R G Santos","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00431-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00431-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With the new discoveries enabled thanks to the recent space missions, stellar physics is going through a revolution. However, these discoveries opened the door to many new questions that require more observations. The European Space Agency's Human and Robotic Exploration program provides an excellent opportunity to push forward the limits of our knowledge and better understand stellar structure and dynamics evolution. Long-term observations, Ultra-Violet observations, and a stellar imager are a few highlights of proposed missions for late-type stars that will enhance the already planned space missions.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"96"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11455973/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142378612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Profiling muscle transcriptome in mice exposed to microgravity using gene set enrichment analysis.","authors":"Anup Mammen Oommen, Phillip Stafford, Lokesh Joshi","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00434-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00434-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Space exploration's advancement toward long-duration missions prompts intensified research on physiological effects. Despite adaptive physiological stability in some variables, persistent changes affect genome integrity, immune response, and cognitive function. Our study, utilizing multi-omics data from GeneLab, provides crucial insights investigating muscle atrophy during space mission. Leveraging NASA GeneLab's data resources, we apply systems biology-based analyses, facilitating comprehensive understanding and enabling meta-analysis. Through transcriptomics, we establish a reference profile of biological processes underlying muscle atrophy, crucial for intervention development. We emphasize the often-overlooked role of glycosylation in muscle atrophy. Our research sheds light on fundamental molecular mechanisms, bridging gaps between space research and terrestrial conditions. This study underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and data-sharing initiatives like GeneLab in advancing space medicine research.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"94"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11452717/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142376303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of gravity on perceived object height.","authors":"Björn Jörges, Nils Bury, Meaghan McManus, Ambika Bansal, Robert S Allison, Michael Jenkin, Laurence R Harris","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00430-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00430-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Altering posture relative to the direction of gravity, or exposure to microgravity has been shown to affect many aspects of perception, including size perception. Our aims in this study were to investigate whether changes in posture and long-term exposure to microgravity bias the visual perception of object height and to test whether any such biases are accompanied by changes in precision. We also explored the possibility of sex/gender differences. Two cohorts of participants (12 astronauts and 20 controls, 50% women) varied the size of a virtual square in a simulated corridor until it was perceived to match a reference stick held in their hands. Astronauts performed the task before, twice during, and twice after an extended stay onboard the International Space Station. On Earth, they performed the task of sitting upright and lying supine. Earth-bound controls also completed the task five times with test sessions spaced similarly to the astronauts; to simulate the microgravity sessions on the ISS they lay supine. In contrast to earlier studies, we found no immediate effect of microgravity exposure on perceived object height. However, astronauts robustly underestimated the height of the square relative to the haptic reference and these estimates were significantly smaller 60 days or more after their return to Earth. No differences were found in the precision of the astronauts' judgments. Controls underestimated the height of the square when supine relative to sitting in their first test session (simulating Pre-Flight) but not in later sessions. While these results are largely inconsistent with previous results in the literature, a posture-dependent effect of simulated eye height might provide a unifying explanation. We were unable to make any firm statements related to sex/gender differences. We conclude that no countermeasures are required to mitigate the acute effects of microgravity exposure on object height perception. However, space travelers should be warned about late-emerging and potentially long-lasting changes in this perceptual skill.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"95"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11452668/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142376304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using noninvasive imaging to assess manual lymphatic drainage on lymphatic/venous responses in a spaceflight analog.","authors":"Heather Barnhart, Frank Aviles, Johanna Pannunzio, Nathan Sirkis, Chantel Hubbard, Patrick Hardigan, Sabrina Ginsburg, Harvey Mayrovitz, Kristen A Eckert, M Mark Melin","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00429-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00429-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This retrospective case series (clinicaltrials.gov NCT06405282) used noninvasive imaging devices (NIID) to assess the effect of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) on dermal/venous fluid distribution, perfusion, and temperature alterations of the head, neck, upper torso, and legs while in the 6-degree head-down tilt validated spaceflight analog. A lymphatic fluid scanner measured tissue dielectric constant levels. Near-infrared spectroscopy assessed perfusion, by measuring tissue oxygenation saturation. Long-wave infrared thermography measured tissue temperature gradients. Fifteen healthy, university students participated. NIID assessments were taken 1 minute after assuming the HDT position and then every 30 minutes, with MLD administered from 180 to 195 minutes. Subjects returned to the sitting position and were assessed at post-225 min NIID demonstrated significant changes from baseline (p < 0.01), although these changes at areas of interest varied. MLD had a reverse effect on all variables. NIID assessment supported the potential use of MLD to mitigate fluid shifts during a spaceflight analog.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"93"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11450199/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142373574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The MyoGravity project to study real microgravity effects on human muscle precursor cells and tissue.","authors":"Ester Sara Di Filippo, Sara Chiappalupi, Stefano Falone, Vincenza Dolo, Fernanda Amicarelli, Silvia Marchianò, Adriana Carino, Gabriele Mascetti, Giovanni Valentini, Sara Piccirillo, Michele Balsamo, Marco Vukich, Stefano Fiorucci, Guglielmo Sorci, Stefania Fulle","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00432-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00432-1","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Microgravity (µG) experienced during space flights promotes adaptation in several astronauts' organs and tissues, with skeletal muscles being the most affected. In response to reduced gravitational loading, muscles (especially, lower limb and antigravity muscles) undergo progressive mass loss and alteration in metabolism, myofiber size, and composition. Skeletal muscle precursor cells (MPCs), also known as satellite cells, are responsible for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass in adult life as well as for muscle regeneration following damage and may have a major role in µG-induced muscle wasting. Despite the great relevance for astronaut health, very few data are available about the effects of real µG on human muscles. Based on the MyoGravity project, this study aimed to analyze: (i) the cellular and transcriptional alterations induced by real µG in human MPCs (huMPCs) and (ii) the response of human skeletal muscle to normal gravitational loading after prolonged exposure to µG. We evaluated the transcriptomic changes induced by µG on board the International Space Station (ISS) in differentiating huMPCs isolated from Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies of a pre-flight astronaut and an age- and sex-matched volunteer, in comparison with the same cells cultured on the ground in standard gravity (1×g) conditions. We found that huMPCs differentiated under real µG conditions showed: (i) upregulation of genes related to cell adhesion, plasma membrane components, and ion transport; (ii) strong downregulation of genes related to the muscle contraction machinery and sarcomere organization; and (iii) downregulation of muscle-specific microRNAs (myomiRs). Moreover, we had the unique opportunity to analyze huMPCs and skeletal muscle tissue of the same astronaut before and 30 h after a long-duration space flight on board the ISS. Prolonged exposure to real µG strongly affected the biology and functionality of the astronaut's satellite cells, which showed a dramatic reduction of responsiveness to activating stimuli and proliferation rate, morphological changes, and almost inability to fuse into myotubes. RNA-Seq analysis of post- vs. pre-flight muscle tissue showed that genes involved in muscle structure and remodeling are promptly activated after landing following a long-duration space mission. Conversely, genes involved in the myelination process or synapse and neuromuscular junction organization appeared downregulated. Although we have investigated only one astronaut, these results point to a prompt readaptation of the skeletal muscle mechanical components to the normal gravitational loading, but the inability to rapidly recover the physiological muscle myelination/innervation pattern after landing from a long-duration space flight. Together with the persistent functional deficit observed in the astronaut's satellite cells after prolonged exposure to real µG, these results lead us to hypothesize that a condition of inefficient regeneration is likely","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"92"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11450100/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142373573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Angelicae dahuricae radix alleviates simulated microgravity induced bone loss by promoting osteoblast differentiation.","authors":"Xuechao Liang, Shanfeng Jiang, Peihong Su, Chong Yin, Wei Jiang, Junhong Gao, Zhiyong Liu, Yuhang Li, Weisi Wang, Airong Qian, Ye Tian","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00433-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41526-024-00433-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bone loss caused by long-duration spaceflight seriously affects the skeletal health of astronauts. There are many shortcomings in currently available treatments for weightlessness-induced bone loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preventive effect of Angelica dahuricae Radix (AR) on simulated microgravity-induced bone loss. Here, we established a hind limb unloading (HLU) mouse model and treated HLU mice with AR (2 g/kg) for 4 weeks. Results indicated that AR significantly inhibited simulated microgravity-induced bone loss. In addition, the components in AR were analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS; results showed that a total of 224 compounds were detected in AR, which mainly contained 7 classes of components. Moreover, the network pharmacological predictions suggested that active ingredients of AR might act on PTGS2 to prevent bone loss. These results elucidate the efficacy of AR in preventing microgravity-induced bone loss and its potential for use in protecting the bone health of astronauts.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11445575/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142362461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nitrogen accountancy in space agriculture.","authors":"Kevin Yates, Aaron J Berliner, Georgios Makrygiorgos, Farrah Kaiyom, Matthew J McNulty, Imran Khan, Paul Kusuma, Claire Kinlaw, Diogo Miron, Charles Legg, James Wilson, Bruce Bugbee, Ali Mesbah, Adam P Arkin, Somen Nandi, Karen A McDonald","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00428-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-024-00428-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Food production and pharmaceutical synthesis are posited as essential biotechnologies for facilitating human exploration beyond Earth. These technologies not only offer critical green space and food agency to astronauts but also promise to minimize mass and volume requirements through scalable, modular agriculture within closed-loop systems, offering an advantage over traditional bring-along strategies. Despite these benefits, the prevalent model for evaluating such systems exhibits significant limitations. It lacks comprehensive inventory and mass balance analyses for crop cultivation and life support, and fails to consider the complexities introduced by cultivating multiple crop varieties, which is crucial for enhancing food diversity and nutritional value. Here we expand space agriculture modeling to account for nitrogen dependence across an array of crops and demonstrate our model with experimental fitting of parameters. By adding nitrogen limitations, an extended model can account for potential interruptions in feedstock supply. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was used to distill key consequential parameters that may be the focus of future experimental efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"90"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11439006/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142332331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brief Communication: Confocal microscopy of oral streptococcal biofilms grown in simulated microgravity using a random positioning machine.","authors":"Kelly C Rice, Ke Aira T Davis","doi":"10.1038/s41526-024-00427-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-024-00427-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biofilms are a concern for spaceflight missions, given their propensity for biofouling systems and their potential threat to astronaut health. Herein, we describe a random positioning machine-based method for growing fluorescent protein-expressing streptococcal biofilms under simulated microgravity. Biofilms can be subsequently imaged by confocal microscopy without further manipulation, minimizing disruption of architecture. This methodology could be adaptable to other bacteria, potentially standardizing biofilm growth and study under simulated microgravity.</p>","PeriodicalId":54263,"journal":{"name":"npj Microgravity","volume":"10 1","pages":"89"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11385976/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142300837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}