Getting to space
is a tough enough prospect, and even once you make it out of our atmosphere,
there are still physical issues. Chief among them: a long flight can cause a
loss of bone and muscle mass. To find ways to combat that process, researchers
study C. elegans, worms that have a surprising amount in common with humans.
But a recent study noticed a strange side effect for space-bound worms: they
lived longer.Scientists from The University of Nottingham discovered that
spaceflight suppressed accumulations of toxic proteins that tend to build up in
aging muscle, and that another group of genes expressed themselves at lower
levels in space. Using worms back on Earth, they lowered the expression of the
same genes, and voila: the worms enjoyed a longer lifespan.
It's not
entirely clear how these genes contribute to aging, but researchers think it
might have something to do with metabolic processes. For example, a gene that
encodes insulin, which is associated with metabolic control, was found in the
set of expressed genes.This might mean that muscles shrinking in space is more
of a natural response than we thought--or even, researchers suggest, that space
is somehow just easier on aging. But it'll take a lot more research before we
can name space the 21st Century Fountain Of Youth.
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