Scientists studying the loss of bone and muscle mass in astronauts have ended up stumbling upon something quite intriguing; the effect that space may have on longevity in both worms and humans.
The tests were being conducted on the microscopic worm species Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) which were brought to the International Space Station (ISS) onboard the Dutch DELTA mission in 2004, to study how time spent there was affecting their muscles and bones; effects which have been pronounced in humans who have spent considerable time in space.
What they discovered in the astro-worms is that an accumulation of toxic proteins normally found in aging muscle was being suppressed while in space. These findings coincided with the discovery that a group of seven genes in the worms were being expressed at lower levels while in space. What's even more exciting is that when these same genes were inhibited in laboratory tests back on our blue marble, the results were the same: the worms lived longer. So it wasn't the effect of space itself, but rather the genes' reaction to being in space.
"Most of us know that muscle tends to shrink in space. These latest results suggest that this is almost certainly an adaptive response rather than a pathological one. Counter-intuitively, muscle in space may age better than on Earth. It may also be that spaceflight slows the process of aging" said Dr Nathaniel Szewczyk, University of Nottingham, part of the ICE-FIRST project, which conducted the experiments.
Scientists now hope to follow these studies up by analyzing an actual human subject who's spent a great amount of time in space, Andre Kuipers, the current European record holder for time spent in space. Andre just returned from a mission to the ISS (with more astro-worms) and will now be studied himself to see what effect extended time in space is having on his muscles, and whether or the not the same gene expressions present in space bound worms are also present in him.
The results from these tests could lead to further study of these genes in humans, and whether intentionally suppressing them could lead to us enjoying longer lifespans, even while firmly rooted to the Earth.
