Experts have long documented the effects of living in microgravity on the human body, finding it causes drastic changes to bones, blood and more. Now scientists are looking to see just what effect being in orbit around Earth might have on a human’s biological age.
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00:00Experts have long documented the effects of living in microgravity on the human body,
00:09finding it causes drastic changes to bones, blood, and more.
00:12Now scientists are looking to see just what effect being in orbit around Earth might have
00:16on a human's biological age.
00:19Astronauts suffer from muscle atrophy, a problem with their joint, with their bone, and also
00:26with the immune system.
00:27When we noticed this, we found that this is actually at some point similar to a different
00:32age-related disease.
00:34And this led us to ask the question, if the space might provide us with an accelerating
00:41aging model.
00:43This is Dr. Ghada Alsaleh, lead researcher on the project.
00:46They have now sent what they call organoid samples, or human cell analogs, up to the
00:50International Space Station, where they will now age and be observed.
00:54They will then be compared to a control set of organoid cells here on Earth.
00:57To define whether or not space ages cells at a faster rate, the researchers say their
01:02ultimate goal is to better understand the aging process in general, and to possibly
01:06discover ways to slow it down, not just for astronauts, but for all of us perpetual terrestrial
01:11dwellers as well.
01:13So I really focus to help people on Earth, but at the same time, would definitely help
01:17the astronaut not to age faster, and maybe to treat all this disorder that they have
01:24during their mission.