Worms in Space: How Gravity affects Biology
- Paper number
IAC-08.A1.6.10
- Author
Dr. Catharine A. Conley, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Headquarters, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Nathaniel Szewczyk, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Gravity is the most significant physical parameter that has remained constant on Earth from the earliest prebiotic chemistry through the evolution of advanced life -- all life today has evolved in the presence of Earth's gravity (1G), and thus should be best adapted to that environment. Varying specific parameters to which organisms are exposed and studying their responses is a common method to explore the influence of such parameters on biological systems; however, gravity is one parameter that it is not possible to reduce on Earth. To understand the effect that gravity may have on biological processes, we currently have capabilities to simulate increased gravity by exposing to organisms to centrifugation, or to place organisms in orbit around the Earth where the effective force of gravity is much reduced. Studies performed on orbit on humans and other organisms reveal a consistent suite of changes in response to reductions in perceived gravity, which includes atrophy of muscle tissue, predominantly that which normally acts to maintain posture in a gravitational field. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is an excellent model system for gravitational biology, because it is a small multicellular animal that is commonly studied in laboratories on Earth. Ground-based data are abundantly available and include a fully-sequenced genome and a comprehensive database of previous research, as well as a large set set of research tools for genetics, cellular, and developmental biology. C. elegans has been flown on several spaceflight experiments, and appropriate hardware for multi-generational growth on orbit have been developed. Data from these experiments suggest that C. elegans undergoes characteristic changes in response to the spaceflight environment that improve adaptation to that environment and are not detrimental over multiple generations. Comparison with data from other organisms suggests that spaceflight exerts specific influences on biological systems, which are likely to require mitigation during long-duration human space exploration.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.A1.6.10.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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