Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Human stem cells age more rapidly in space, study finds

Link: https://www.engadget.com/human-stem-cells-age...

While scientists are still working to understand the effects an extended trip
to space can have on the human body, research in recent years has suggested
that astronauts may experience some pretty dramatic changes on both the
physiological and psychological levels. In the latest study led by a team at
University of California San Diego, researchers found signs of accelerated
aging in human stem cells that spent roughly a month in space.

The research focused on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs),
which are crucial in the formation of blood and immune cells. Stem cells were
sent to the International Space Station for stays of 32-45 days using
specially developed nanobioreactors to monitor them. Another set remained on
Earth at the Kennedy Space Center. The cells that went to the ISS showed a
host of changes, including reduced self-renewal abilities, greater
susceptibility to DNA damage and inflammation in the mitochondria. However,
the damage didn't appear to be permanent. The team notes that the changes
were at least partially reversed when the cells were removed from the space
environment.

ΓÇ£Space is the ultimate stress test for the human body,ΓÇ¥ Catriona
Jamieson, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute, said in a
statement. ΓÇ£These findings are critically important because they show that
the stressors of space ΓÇö like microgravity and cosmic galactic radiation
ΓÇö can accelerate the molecular aging of blood stem cells. Understanding
these changes not only informs how we protect astronauts during long-duration
missions but also helps us model human aging and diseases like cancer here on
Earth."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/human-stem-cells-age...
finds-145651426.html?src=rss

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