The National Association for Proton Therapy’s Post

Dr. Jon Sen, Medical Director of Mayday Group Limited and Neuroscience Clinical Lecturer, spearheaded a groundbreaking #brain research project aboard the Axiom-2 International Space Station (ISS) mission, aiming to enhance understanding of #astronaut brain health in #microgravity. This initiative, conducted in collaboration with international researchers, focused on monitoring #brainfunction from cellular to global levels, addressing phenomena like spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS). The research introduced portable brain monitors for future space missions and clinics, aiming to mitigate risks associated with long-duration #space flights and commercial space travel. Dr. Sen's team also plans to contribute to #brainhealth research on the upcoming SpaceX #PolarisDawn Mission, exploring intracranial pressure through pupillary reactivity studies and other neurological measurements. These efforts mark significant strides in space #neuroscience, potentially informing protocols and interventions to safeguard astronaut health amidst evolving #spaceexploration endeavors. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e7FbvzYc

Dear Mr. RFK Jr., Sending astronauts to Mars might sound like a blockbuster sequel to Gravity, but there’s one very real villain threatening our spacefaring ambitions: understanding mitochondria function. Yes, those little cellular powerhouses are having cosmic meltdowns in deep space. Cracking this mystery isn’t just a science project—it’s the key to making interplanetary travel safe.   A June 2024 study in Nature Communications analyzed Elon's SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. The findings? Weightlessness and cosmic radiation are an existential threat to our mitochondria. Researchers found troubling changes across the brain, heart, muscles, kidneys, and skin. While most biomarkers rebounded post-flight, some mitochondrial issues persisted, proving that even short space jaunts can mess with cellular energy. (https://lnkd.in/gbu2zRpY)   Here’s where it gets interesting: the NIH—yes, 'your' NIH—has been leading in mitochondrial research long before space travel made it sexy. NIH scientists are decoding how mitochondrial dysfunction drives aging, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and more. Think of the NIH as the mitochondria whisperers. Crazy, right?   To get you up to speed, here’s a crash course on NIH mitochondrial research:   NIA: Unlocking how mitochondrial dysfunction drives aging and conditions like Alzheimer’s. NIDDK: Connecting mitochondrial metabolism to diabetes and obesity. NINDS: Exploring mitochondrial roles in epilepsy, ALS, and neurological diseases. ORDR: Advancing rare mitochondrial disease research. Common Fund Programs: Studying mitochondria’s rogue behavior in diseases. NHLBI: Investigating mitochondria’s influence on heart health. Cellular Research: Diving into mitochondrial biogenesis and cell death. Grants: Funding cutting-edge research through R01s and more. Roadmap Initiatives: Integrating mitochondrial research into systems biology. Collaborations: Partnering with academia and pharma to advance science. Here’s the kicker: all this work directly feeds into solving astronaut health puzzles. Before you, Vivek, and Elon start lopping head counts at the “inefficient” NIH, maybe check with SpaceX’s medical team on how much NIH research is already keeping astronauts—and future Martians—alive. Just a thought. Respectfully,   Scott J. Campbell, MD, MPH   Co-author, “Clinical Decision Support Systems in Spaceflight Operations” (Levin MD, MPH, Russell PhD, Campbell, MD, MPH) From “Systems Medicine for Human Spaceflight” (Antonsen, MD, PhD, MS and Shelhamer, ScD) Advisor, American Board of AI in Medicine Emergentologist The Nation-State of San Francisco

🚀 Trailblazing Women's Health in Space: Pioneering Research by Dr. Begum Mathyk 🚀 From the final frontier to our everyday lives, space travel has revolutionized medicine in ways we never imagined. And now, Dr. Begum Mathyk, a distinguished University of South Florida Health OB-GYN, is blazing a trail into the cosmos with her groundbreaking research on women's health in space. 🌌 Dr. Mathyk's work focuses on the effects of space travel on the female reproductive system, particularly menopause, menstrual irregularities, fertility, and gynecological surgery. Her dedication is driven by a deep curiosity and a desire to ensure the health of female astronauts. She is actively involved in NASA's GeneLab group and the STAR course fellow program, publishing pioneering research and advocating for the inclusion of women's health considerations in future space missions. ✨ From Space to Earth: Medical Innovations ✨ 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞: Originally developed to monitor and treat astronauts remotely, telemedicine has become a lifeline for remote and underserved areas on Earth, bringing expert healthcare to those who need it most. 𝐓𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Research on wound healing in microgravity has led to new methods for promoting tissue regeneration, significantly improving wound care here on Earth. 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲: Techniques developed for performing surgeries remotely on the International Space Station have revolutionized robotic-assisted surgery, enhancing precision and outcomes in operating rooms worldwide. 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Health monitoring technologies designed for astronauts are now ubiquitous, helping millions track their vital signs and manage chronic conditions effectively. Dr. Mathyk's dedication to understanding the unique challenges faced by women in space is not just a leap for space exploration but a giant leap for women's health on Earth. Her research ensures that as we reach for the stars, we do so with the health and well-being of all astronauts in mind. 🌠 Join us in celebrating Dr. Mathyk's incredible contributions and the ongoing journey of medical discovery that bridges space and Earth. 🌎 #WomensHealth #SpaceMedicine #Innovation #USFHealth #Telemedicine #TissueRegeneration #RoboticSurgery #WearableTech #NASA #AstronautHealth

Astronautics; Omics; Space medicine; Space sciences.-"Muscle atrophy phenotype gene expression during spaceflight is linked to a metabolic crosstalk in both the liver and the muscle in mice "- "Abstract: Human expansion in space is hampered by the physiological risks of spaceflight. The muscle and the liver are among the most affected tissues during spaceflight and their relationships in response to space exposure have never been studied. We compared the transcriptome response of liver and quadriceps from mice on NASA RR1 mission, after 37 days of exposure to spaceflight using GSEA, ORA, and sparse partial least square-differential analysis. We found that lipid metabolism is the most affected biological process between the two organs. A specific gene cluster expression pattern in the liver strongly correlated with glucose sparing and an energy-saving response affecting high energy demand process gene expression such as DNA repair, autophagy, and translation in the muscle. Our results show that impaired lipid metabolism gene expression in the liver and muscle atrophy gene expression are two paired events during spaceflight, for which dietary changes represent a possible countermeasure." https://lnkd.in/eVkkxqnm Highlights : Lipid metabolic genes are the most affected among mice muscle and liver in spaceflight Glucose metabolic genes are the most DEG on mice quadriceps in spaceflight Muscle atrophy gene expression correlates with a liver lipid gene cluster expression Hepatokines are likely the effector of this organ communication" Geraldine Vitry 1 2, Rebecca Finch 2, Gavin Mcstay 2, Afshin Behesti 3 4,  Sébastien Déjean 5, Tricia Larose 1 6, Virginia Wotring 1 7, Willian Abraham da Silveira 1 2 1 International Space University, France. 2 Staffordshire University, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Health, Science and Wellbeing, Staffordshire University, , UK. 3 KBR, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, USA. 4 Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, USA. 5 Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse, UMR5219, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, France. 6 Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway. 7 Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.

Congratulations to my research team for our just published paper in PNAS detailing the effects of microgravity on engineered human heart tissue. Our study involved multiple steps of state-of-the-art science, including differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells into human cardiomyocyte tissue, designing an enclosure for these tissues to live on the ISS, measuring their contractile performance over time, and drawing insightful conclusions from analyzing the data generated by the spaceflight tissues versus their identical ground based controls. https://lnkd.in/g_BG9mx3 Our results clearly showed that microgravity adversely effects the contraction strength and beat pattern of heart tissue, and provide useful evidence about the molecular and cellular changes underlying these effects. Microgravity induced changes strongly resemble how normal aging affects heart tissues, so we are optimistic that therapies to counteract these changes will be useful not only for human spaceflight, but also for the population in general as they age. Our second experiment with cardiac tissues experiencing microgravity has already successfully flown on the ISS and we are confident analysis of them will provide even greater insight into the causes and remedies for microgravity’s adverse effects on the human heart. This work has been truly a team effort and was funded by the Tissue Chips in Space Program of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

NASA touts space research in anti-cancer fight. Experiments in the weightless environment of space have led to "crazy progress" in the fight against cancer, NASA officials said at a recent event highlighting an important and personal initiative of US President Joe Biden. Space is "a unique place for research," astronaut Frank Rubio said at the event in Washington. The 48-year-old, a physician and former military helicopter pilot, conducted cancer research during his recent mission to the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting some 400 kilometers (250 miles) above the Earth's surface. Not only do cells there age more rapidly, speeding up research, their structures are also described as "purer." "They all don't clump together (as they do) on Earth because of gravity. They are suspended in space," enabling better analysis of their molecular structures, NASA chief Bill Nelson told AFP in an interview. Research conducted in space can help make cancer drugs more effective, Nelson added. Pharmaceutical giant Merck has conducted research on the ISS with Keytruda, an anti-cancer drug that patients now receive intravenously. Its key ingredient is difficult to transform into a liquid. One solution is crystallization, a process often used in drug manufacturing. In 2017, Merck conducted experiments to see if the crystals would form more rapidly in space than on Earth. Nelson used two pictures to demonstrate the difference. The first showed a blurry, transparent spot. But on the second, a large number of clear gray spots had emerged. That photo showed that smaller, more uniform crystals were forming in space—and "forming better," Nelson said. Thanks to such research, researchers will be able to make a drug that can be administered by injection in a doctor's office instead of through long and painful chemotherapy treatments, he added. Merck identified techniques that can help it imitate the effects of these crystals on Earth as it works to develop a drug that can be stored at room temperature. Still, it can take years between research in space and the wide availability of a drug developed there. Cancer research in space began more than 40 years ago but has become "revolutionary" in recent years, said Nelson, a former Democratic senator who traveled into space himself in 1986. "We use the languages of space to tell the limits of cancer," added W. Kimryn Rathmell, director of the National Cancer Institute, a federally funded research body. 'Moonshot' Biden launched a "Cancer Moonshot" initiative in 2016, when he was then vice president, echoing a speech by John F. Kennedy some 60 years earlier outlining the bold goal of sending an American to the moon. The goal of the "Moonshot" is to halve the death rate from cancer over the next quarter century, saving four million lives, according to the White House. The battle against cancer, the country's second-leading cause of death after heart disease. #cancer #anticancer #drugs #moonshot

[Heart Tissues Beat Half As Strongly On The ISS As They Do On Earth] What effects does spaceflight have on an astronaut's heart? This is exactly the question that prompted scientists from Johns Hopkins University to send 48 bioengineered heart tissue samples to the International Space Station, where they were monitored for 30 days and compared to identical samples on Earth. The team examined how low gravity impacts things like the cells' strength of contraction, known as twitch forces, and any irregular beating patterns. The results were concerning — the scientists found that heart cells "really don't fare well in space," beating with about half the strength of the control samples on Earth — but not surprising. Previous studies have found that, after returning to Earth, astronauts exhibit reduced heart muscle function and irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. While some of these effects from space travel fade over time, not all do — and that will have significant implications for long-term space missions, including possible jaunts to the moon and perhaps even Mars someday. Deok-Ho Kim, a professor of biomedical engineering and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, led the project to send heart tissue to the space station. He and his Ph.D. student at the time, Jonothan Tsui, created the bioengineered heart tissue from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The cells were grown in "organ-on-a-chip" devices, which are miniature models of different organs in which engineered or natural tissues and cells are grown inside microfluidic chips. In this case, the 3D chip was designed to mimic an adult human heart in a chamber half the size of a standard cell phone. The team found the space-bound tissue had shown elevated levels of inflammation and oxidative damage; proteins called sarcomeres, which help heart cells contract, had also become shorter and more disordered. These changes are comparable to those observed in people with heart disease. In addition, the cells' mitochondria, their energy powerhouses, had become larger, rounder, and had lost their characteristic shape. This further suggests the heart cells experienced significant stress or dysfunction in space, likely leading to impaired energy production, which could contribute to the weakened heart cell contractions and overall decline in cellular health observed in the experiment. Such damage could also affect the cells' ability to function properly as a whole. The researchers intend to continue to refine their "heart-on-a-chip" to gather more data that will allow them to determine exactly how this damage is occurring on a molecular level, and thus find ways to keep astronauts safe during long spaceflight missions that might soon become reality. Source: https://lnkd.in/e6vc5aQq #galaxyaerosgh #space #spaceexploration #SpaceNews

Abstract :"A detailed understanding of how spaceflight affects human health is essential for long-term space exploration. Liquid biopsies allow for minimally-invasive multi-omics assessments that can resolve the molecular heterogeneity of internal tissues. Here, we report initial results from the JAXA Cell-Free Epigenome Study, a liquid biopsy study with six astronauts who resided on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than 120 days. Analysis of plasma cell-free RNA (cfRNA) collected before, during, and after spaceflight confirms previously reported mitochondrial dysregulation in space. Screening with 361 cell surface marker antibodies identifies a mitochondrial DNA-enriched fraction associated with the scavenger receptor CD36. RNA-sequencing of the CD36 fraction reveals tissue-enriched RNA species, suggesting the plasma mitochondrial components originated from various tissues. We compare our plasma cfRNA data to mouse plasma cfRNA data from a previous JAXA mission, which had used on-board artificial gravity, and discover a link between microgravity and the observed mitochondrial responses." Release of CD36-associated cell-free mitochondrial DNA and RNA as a hallmark of space environment response https://lnkd.in/gR6_PEAh Nailil Husna1,2, Tatsuya Aiba 3 , Shin-Ichiro Fujita1,7, Yoshika Saito4 , Dai Shiba 3 , Takashi Kudo 5,6, Satoru Takahashi 5,6, Satoshi Furukawa 3 & Masafumi Muratani 1,5 1 Department of Genome Biology, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. 2 Program in Humanics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573, Japan. 3 Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan. 4 Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8303, Japan. 5 Transborder Medical Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. 6 Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. 7 Present address: Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.

❤️ Cardiovascular Research in Space – The 3D heart-on-a-chip model, featured in this newly published article, accurately replicated the adverse effects of heart muscle function changes and arrhythmias experienced by astronauts upon returning to Earth. The model was able to send real-time data from the ISS to the lab on Earth and accurately predicted key signatures of metabolic disorders, heart failure, oxidative stress, and inflammation related to spaceflight. Genes related to contractility and calcium signaling showed significant down-regulation in spaceflight conditions. As someone who has worked on the prevention of oxidative stress and in cardiovascular cell signaling, I’m a strong advocate for prevention over treatment when possible. From my research and experience, preventing these issues through key lifestyle interventions—such as a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, regular physical activity, stress management, and even targeted pharmaceuticals—are existing challenges for astronauts as they live aboard the ISS. Interestingly, while high blood pressure on Earth often leads to these complications as well, astronauts in microgravity experience the opposite with low blood pressure. This raises even more questions about how we can prevent these cardiovascular changes during spaceflight. I would love to be able to be part of innovative solutions in this field, and protect astronauts’ heart and overall health. What do you think? Is space travel still worth the risk? Or would you like to see preventative health measures put in place prior to and during spaceflight? What would that look like to you? 🚀 #HeartHealth #CardiovascularResearch #OxidativeStress #3DHeartChip #SpaceHealth #PreventionIsKey #MetabolicDisorders #HeartFailurePrevention #GeneExpression #Microgravity

Long awaited publication milestone from a project I have been following closely for a few years. Headed up by the (inter)stellar Christopher Mason, the Space Omics and Medical Atlas– SOMA, examines the molecular impact of spaceflight on the health and function of the human body. SpaceX’s 2021 Inspiration4 crew completed a high-elevation orbital mission, providing biospecimens before, during, and after their three-day journey.  While not sufficient to guide astronaut surgeons yet, or define all a cell's changes in microgravity, this work is a first molecular map of the human body’s response to spaceflight. It is thrilling to consider how this decidedly small but comprehensive clinical and multi-omic resource repository will grow into an aerospace biobank for future generations of space-bound humans. Start with the detailed guide to SOMA, describing the ~3,000 samples, as well as the methods for spatial transcriptomics, long-read RNA, microbiome data, exosome profiles, and in-depth immune diversity maps: https://lnkd.in/gtjSSGcW TL;DR:  “The multi-omic footprint of spaceflight is much wider than previously observed.” 🚀 Findings are reproduced from the earlier NASA Twins Study: Similar changes were seen as those during longer-duration missions, including elevated cytokines, telomere elongation, and gene expression changes for immune activation, DNA damage response, and oxidative stress. 🚀 Three new methods reveal distinct RNA fingerprints of spaceflight: SOMA has a strong emphasis on RNA profiling thanks to new technology like spatially-resolved transcriptomics for skin biopsies, circulating free RNA profiling as a way to snapshot temporal alterations, and looking at RNA mods by direct sequencing. Notably, single cell sequencing methods (RNA and ATAC track gene expression and epigenetic changes within the same cells. 🚀 Immune response gene regulatory changes during recovery: Differential gene expression in immune cells returned to baseline levels after flight, but a few interesting genes in T cells & monocytes remained high. Chromatin accessibility and TF binding studies reveal potential mechanisms that may regulate a set of common, core pathways in response to spaceflight. 🚀 Intra-individual spaceflight responses: Researchers looked at changes in proteomic, transcriptomic, & microbiome data from hundreds of each astronaut’s samples. These were compared with that from prior missions to understand changes in cellular mechanisms most affected during spaceflight & recovery. ### Overall, this tour de force of data provides a nice blueprint of how to bring together different technologies to prepare for the biomedical challenges of a massive human undertaking like multi-year space habitation! https://lnkd.in/gxtQ7-9E #RNA #DNA #Omics #epigenetics #genomics #proteomics #spaceflight #OmicsinSpaaace 🛰