Scientists will send muscles into space to study the aging process
Photo: Fedor Yurchikhin / Roskosmos
Scientists intend to uncover the secret of the body's aging after studying the muscles sent into space. This is reported by Sky News.
Specialists at the University of Liverpool intend to send fragments of human muscles into space to analyze the effect of weightlessness on the human body. Muscle cells the size of a grain of rice will be housed in special 3D-printed containers. The cargo will be dispatched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, December 21.
The prototype will be in earth orbit until January 2022. All this time, a small current will be supplied through the muscle fragment, stimulating tissue contraction. Scientists believe that in space, a process similar to the aging of the body occurs, due to which muscles weaken. In the study, specialists will be helped by a similar laboratory sample of human tissue.
“Every cosmonaut on the ISS trains for at least 2.5 hours every day and, despite this, loses quite a lot of muscle,” said Professor Malcolm Jackson. Research can explain the nuances of aging and suggest how you can slow it down.
It is clarified that the equipment for the experiment was manufactured by Kayser Space from Oxfordshire. It will ensure the safety of samples and protect against temperature extremes and overloads. The study was funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA), which allocated 12 million pounds, or about 1.17 billion rubles.
In mid-December, Russian scientists figured out how to maintain muscle function in zero gravity and combat atrophy. Experts suggested stimulating muscles with an injection of L-Name, an inhibitor of the enzyme NO synthase.
