There are several well -documented health risks that result from expenditure of extended periods in microgravity, including muscle atrophy, bone density loss and changes in organ function and health. In addition, astronauts have reported symptoms of immune function, including rashes and other inflammatory diseases. According to a new study, these problems could be due to the extremely sterile environment in spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS). Their results suggest that more microbes could help improve human health in space.
The study was run by Rodolfo A. Salido and Haoqi Nina Zhao, an Bioengineer and an environmental analysis at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). They were made by researchers from several UCSD programs and centers, the University of Denver, the Chiba University-Uc San Diego Center for immunology allergy and vaccines from the university (CMAV), space research within reach, the Baylor College Center for Space Medicine, the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) (BMSISIS) Office), the organic John office and the Planetary Protection Group, and the organic John office in the NASA office in the NASA office in NASA, the Astonit office and the planetary protection and planetary protection in Aston.
The study was a joint effort with astronauts on board the ISS, the 803 different surfaces – 100 times as high as earlier surveys – loathed in order to obtain a census of microbes on board the station. The researchers identified which bacterial species and chemicals were present in every sample, and created three -dimensional cards to illustrate where each of them was found and how they could interact. Their results show that the ISS has a much lower variety of microbes compared to people with people on earth.
The NASA Astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman, Expedition 26 Flight Engineer, is mapped in the Harmony node of the International Space Station with a dust and its content. Credit: NASA
Overall, the team found that chemicals from cleaning products and disinfectants were omnipresent in the entire station and that astronauts usually introduce microbes on board the ISS by dandruff. They also found that different modules on the basis of using the module house various microbial communities and chemical signatures. For example, food and food preparation areas contained more food in connection with food, while the room toilet of the ISS contained more urine and faecal matters microbes and organic products of the metabolism (metabolites).
“We have found that the abundance of the disinfectant on the surface of the international space station correlates strongly with the variety of microbioma at various locations in the space station,” said Zhao in a press release of cells. These results suggest that more microbes from Earth could help improve the health of the astronauts. Salido said:
“Future environments, including space stations, could promote deliberately diverse microbial communities that better imitate natural microbial exposure on Earth instead of relying on strongly sanitary spaces. If we really want life to thrive outside of earth, we cannot simply bring a small branch of the tree of life into space and hope that it works. We have to think about which other useful companions we should send with these astronauts to help you develop ecosystems that will be sustainable and advantageous for everyone. ”
The team found that microbial communities on board the ISS were less diverse than most places on earth, except where urban, industrialized and isolated environments (ie hospitals) were affected. They also found that the ISS surfaces had no freely living environmental microbes that are normally found in soil and water. Similar to the well -documented advantages that have gardening for the human immune system, the researchers conclude that the inclusion of these microbes and their substrates in the ISS could improve the health of astronaut without affecting hygiene.
Astronauts on the international space station are experiencing an Orbital new job. Credit: NASA/ESA
“There is a big difference between exposure to healthy soil of garden and the dirt in our own dirt.
With a view to the future, the researchers hope to refine their analyzes in order to recognize potentially pathogenic microbes and how environmental metabolites can be used as indicators of astronaut's health. The team claims that these methods could also help improve the health of people who live and work in similar sterile environments on earth.
This research was supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, UCSD, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (Casis) and the ISS National Laboratory. The paper, in which its results “The International Space Station shows, has a unique and extreme microbial and chemical environment driven by usage patterns” was published on February 27 in the Journal Cell.
Further reading: Eurekalert!
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