:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2021/d/8/mhBU4oS8KCSmHacMxtww/2021-04-24t121216z-2067336868-rc2c2n9sq6w4-rtrmadp-3-space-exploration-spacex.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Astronaut Study Reveals Effects of Space Travel on the Human Body | Health")
A study of bone loss in 17 astronauts who flew aboard the International Space Station Understanding is increasing about the effects of space travel on the human body and measures that can mitigate them.
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The research has accumulated new data on bone loss in astronauts caused by the microgravity conditions of space and the degree to which bone mineral density can be regained in space. Terra.
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The study involved 14 male and three female astronauts, with an average age of 47 years, whose missions ranged from four to seven months in space, with an average of about 5 and a half months.
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One year after returning to Terra, astronauts exhibited, on average, a 2.1% reduction in bone mineral density in the tibia – one of the leg bones – and a 1.3% reduction in bone strength. Nine did not recover bone mineral density after spaceflight, showing permanent loss.
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“We know that astronauts experience bone loss on long-duration spaceflights. The novelty of this study is that we followed astronauts for a year after their spaceflight to understand if and how bone heals,” said Leigh Gabel, a professor at the University of Calgary, lead author of the research, who was published this week in Scientific Reports.
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“Astronauts experienced significant bone loss during their six-month spaceflights – loss that we would expect to see in older adults over two decades in space. Terraand they only recouped about half of that loss after a year of returning to Terra”, this fork.
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Bone loss occurs because bones that would normally support weight in the Terra carry no weight in space. Space agencies will need to improve compensatory measures — exercise and nutrition regimens — to help prevent bone loss, Gabel said.
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“During spaceflight, bone structures thin out… Once the astronaut returns to Terrathe remaining bony connections can thicken and strengthen, but the ones that have become disconnected in space cannot be rebuilt, so the astronaut’s overall bone structure changes permanently,” Gabel said.
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The astronauts in the study have flown on the space station for the past seven years. The study does not disclose their nationalities, but they were from the US space agency, the Nasafrom the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
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