Die Raumfahrt beschleunigt das Zellalterung. Nachdem die Blutstammzellen 32 bis 45 Tage im Weltraum waren, zeigten sie mehrere Merkmale des Alterns. Sie wurden zu überaktiv, brannten ihre Reserven durch und verloren ihre Fähigkeit, sich auszuruhen und zu regenerieren, eine Schlüsselfunktion von Stammzellen.
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/spaceflight-accelerates-human-stem-cell-aging-uc-san-diego-researchers-find
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Researchers from University of California San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute have discovered that spaceflight accelerates the aging of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), which are vital for blood and immune system health. In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, the team used automated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven stem cell-tracking nanobioreactor systems in four SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services missions to the International Space Station (ISS) to track stem cell changes in real time. The findings show that the cells lost some of their ability to make healthy new cells, became more prone to DNA damage and showed signs of faster aging at the ends of their chromosomes after spaceflight — all signs of accelerated aging.
“Space is the ultimate stress test for the human body,” said Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute and professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “These findings are critically important because they show that the stressors of space — like microgravity and cosmic galactic radiation — can accelerate the molecular aging of blood stem cells. Understanding these changes not only informs how we protect astronauts during long-duration missions but also helps us model human aging and diseases like cancer here on Earth. This is essential knowledge as we enter a new era of commercial space travel and research in low earth orbit.“
https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(25)00270-X
More and more evidence seems to be coming out that our bodies are optimized for Earth gravity. It’s starting to look like long-term human survival in micro or fractional gravity is a real problem for our multiplanetary goals. We have no idea whether or not human gestation is possible in anything other than Earth gravity. In addition, human organs, such as the heart, shrink pretty rapidly in microgravity.
See the following for more:
Cardiac Effects of Repeated Weightlessness During Extreme‑Duration Swimming Compared With Spaceflight (published in Circulation, 2021)
Interesting findings! Even a relatively short period in space just over a month appears to push human blood-forming stem cells toward aging-like changes.
The cells become hyperactive, depleting their reserves, show DNA damage and telomere shortening, and experience mitochondrial stress and inflammation.
So maybe spaceflight affects fundamental cellular processes that maintain regeneration and immune function.