Astronauts may drink red wine and eat dessert to be healthy, a study has suggested.
While Yuri Gagarin, the second man in space, took caramel sauce with him on his founding mission in 1961, his successors hoping to colonize Mars and the sun does find red wine and dark chocolates on the menu.
For the first time, a study has discovered that substances in the two goods may help people deal with the physical strain of space travel.
Materials called flavonols, whose health gains have been frequently extolled by experts, have been found to maintain the immune system working properly in place.
In order to prepare for mortal visits to Mars and the Moon in the next few years, scientists are looking into the long-term health effects of space travel.
Exploiting place and spending months in orbit have a significant impact on people’s health, with extreme cosmic radiation and gravity altering the brain’s functionality.
A host of studies published in Nature journals on Tuesday reveal that day in place alters the immune system, the body, the length of chromosomes, protein detection, gut microbiome, the reproductive system, hormones, heart, liver functionality, and kidney efficiency.
Health issues such as muscle atrophy, weak bones, weakened eye and kidney rocks, have already been recorded.
With information from animals tests on the International Space Station, people data from the Inspiration- 4 vision, and the Nasa Twins research, Cornell University and the Buck Institute in the US conducted a study to examine how the immune system responds to gravity.
They discovered that microgravity “alters certain pathways for maximum immunity” and prevents the function of infection-killing cells.
Scientists and AI researchers used machine learning to discover compounds that might help to repair the explorers ‘ weak immune system.
A popular antioxidant called quercetin, a type of flavonol, was able to change 70 per cent of the biological changes accountable for the defense issues in place, information show.
Flavonols are found at high levels in a range of colourful foods including onions, kale, grapes, capers and berries. They can also be found in dark chocolate and red wine.
” Due to the pronounced benefits that quercetin gave to cells in normalising microgravity- induced pathology, we would anticipate that other flavonols could have similar benefits, pending more study”, Dr Daniel Winer, the study author at the Buck Institute, told The Telegraph.
There may be a benefit to taking these in space because both red wine and dark chocolate contain numerous flavonols, including quercetin.
According to Dr. Winer, scientists are still trying to determine what constitutes a safe level of flavonol consumption in space.
Zinc and magnesium also aid immunity
Zinc, magnesium, and catechins similar to those found in green tea are other beneficial immune systems in space, according to the scientists.
” Quercetin would be a good place to start for astronauts, and future space missions could potentially stress adding more food rich in quercetin, like kale, red onions, apples, berries, citrus fruits, capers, radish, among others”, Dr Winer added.
” We found that flavonols could help reverse about 70 per cent of the spaceflight- related core genes that change, and so any foods, drinks, or formulation that has high amounts of flavonols should likely help”, Dr Chris Mason, the study co- author from Weill Cornell Medicine, told The Telegraph.
The team’s research was published in Nature Communications, and it is now developing” space nutraceuticals” that could serve as the diet for a future astronaut.
The study co-author and director of the Buck Institute Artificial Intelligence Platform Dr. David Furman claimed that the team “in a completely unbiased manner” discovered the health benefits of flavonols.
The natural chemicals are currently being tested by space scientists on lab-grown organs, including mini-brains, to see if they may have any additional health benefits for astronauts.
Women may be better able to withstand spaceflight.
The largest piece of research on the impact of space travel released on Tuesday, and scientists have now discovered early indications that women are naturally more suited than men to deal with the demands of space travel.
Although we ca n’t prove there are any conclusive differences between sex, we can start to see some evidence that suggests that females may be responding and returning to baseline more quickly than males, said Dr. Mason.
” There appears to be a little bit of proof that females might return more quickly to their starting positions before the flight.”
More data is needed, scientists say, as most astronauts are male. For example, 12 people have been to the moon, but all were men.
Dr. Mason speculates that women may be able to cope with space travel because the labor and pregnancy processes present the same physical challenges as entering space.
It may be related to the fact that women must give birth and are able to deal with significant alterations in physiology and fluid dynamics, he said.
” Women may be excellent at managing pregnancy as well as the stress of spaceflight on a physiological level. My wife asks me this all the time, actually.
We do n’t know the full picture yet of why women seem to be a little bit more tolerant of the stresses of space flight, but we’re looking into it.
Overall, the research concludes that people are able to tolerate space travel and that even members of the general public can spend time in space safely.
They added that medication will likely be able to prevent and treat any issues that may arise from space travel, particularly for lengthy missions, such as any attempts to live on Mars or travel to Mars.
Mars travelers may require dialysis.
However, a study from UCL that was published in Nature Communications did discover that space could have serious and permanent effects on the kidneys.
A combination of human and animal experiments revealed that microgravity causes physical changes to kidneys.
Because kidney tubules can shrink in less than a month, the study authors claim, making astronauts more susceptible to kidney stones.
If we do n’t create novel ways to safeguard the kidneys, I’d say that while an astronaut may be able to reach Mars, they might need dialysis on their return, according to Dr. Keith Siew, the study’s first author.
