Worms on the International Space Station May Help Astronauts Combat Muscle Loss

There are several hazards when it comes to space travel, and one of them is muscle and bone loss. Now, a tiny roundworm may help keep astronauts healthy on long-duration space missions.

In order to better understand the physiological problems found in astronauts, researchers have turned to the tiny Caenorhabditis elegans, a millimeter-long roundworm that's often used as a model organism.

We rely on gravity to develop stronger muscles and bones; for example, athletes lift weights and resist the pull of gravity. In spaceflight, though, astronauts don't use those muscles to resist the force of gravity, and muscles and bones begin to slowly deteriorate even with assigned daily exercise.

"Spaceflight-induced health changes, such as decreases in muscle and bone mass, are a major challenge facing our astronauts," said Julie Robinson, NASA's Chief Scientist for the International Space Station Program Office, in a news release. "We investigate solutions on the station not only to keep astronauts healthy as the agency considers longer space exploration missions, but also to help those on Earth who have limited activity as a result of aging or illness."

In order to better study this phenomenon, researchers are launching several investigations. One will examine the muscle fibers and cytoskeleton of the roundworm in space to clarify how those physiological systems alter in response to microgravity. Another investigation is examining the DNA of roundworms. All of these roundworms, in turn, will be compared with similar batches grown in a laboratory on Earth.

"Our studies will help clarify how and why these changes to health take place in microgravity and determine if the adaptations to space are transmitted from one cell generation to another without changing the basic DNA of an organism," said Atsushi Higashitani, principal investigator for both investigations. "Then, we can investigate if those effects could be treated with different medicines or therapies."

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