According to a recent study, the pressure on the human heart weakens significantly after just one month in space. An experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is providing valuable insight into how long-term space light can cause cardiovascular changes that have previously been difficult to study in astronauts. – qubit.hu reported about it.
In the research, carried out by colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, they used a system called “heart-on-a-chip” to monitor the molecular and functional changes in muscles heart in real time in microgravity. environment. To do this, they first transformed human pluripotent stem cells into heart muscle cells, and then placed them in a small chamber, where the assembled tissues could contract rhythmically and mimic a heartbeat. human
During the 30 days on the ISS, the tissues showed significant weakening and irregular heartbeats compared to control samples on Earth. Heart rhythm irregularities peaked after 19 days in space and then disappeared after the samples returned to Earth. This means, for example, that the two astronauts traveling to the space station on the Boeing Starliner and who were stranded there after the spacecraft malfunctioned could also experience similar cardiovascular stress , but improvement is expected after they return home.
Analysis of the tissues revealed molecular changes: shorter and more disordered sarcomeres (the basic functional units of muscles) and swollen mitochondria, which are important for muscle contraction and energy production. Genetic sequencing revealed increased expression of genes associated with inflammation and heart disease, while there was a decrease in genes associated with heart contraction and mitochondrial function.
2024-09-26 04:00:49
#Astronauts #hearts #fail #days #microgravity
