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On the next Space Station replenishment mission, the Space X Dragon will bring coffee, a robot and a group of rodent passengers to help scientists understand biology in space. Laboratory mice will help researchers study how weightlessness affects biological processes such as circadian rhythms and microbiomes. "Because the journey to Mars and the return is expected to take several years, we need to determine how the gut microbiota could be altered in weightlessness over long periods of time," said Fred Turek, director of the Northwestern Circadian Sleep and Biology Center [19659002]. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
The Space Mouse Team consists of 10 identical siblings from two different mouse families. Half of them will spend 90 days in orbit, while the other half will live in a NASA simulator that will "replace the exact conditions minute by minute – but with gravity – inside of the space station ". microbiome – billions of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the human intestines – in the space, and how circadian rhythms, which regulate our sleep and activity patterns, could play a role.
"It's important to understand how space travel can impact the circadian system because it coordinates so many biological processes," says Martha Vitaterna, co-investigator of the study. "The takeoff effort, the absence of gravity and the confined life setting add to the stress of life in the space, and the key to the life. adaptation can be in the body's ability to maintain harmony between systems. "
similar to the human twin project "Year in Space" conducted in 2015-2016, in which scientists compared the data of the year of astronaut Scott Kelly with his identical twin brother based on land, Mark. The research on mice, combined with results from the study on twins, will help scientists understand what weightlessness will do for our body, and perhaps even help improve human health on Earth.
(via Northwestern University)
