Muscle cells briefly stayed with astronauts aboard the International Space Station
Shutterstock / Artsiom P
A week in the microgravity of space ages muscle cells so that their genetic activity looks similar to Earth-bound cells that have been ageing for years. This finding could explain why spending time in space impairs muscle function.
We know that astronauts are at risk of losing bone density and muscle mass due to extremely low gravity in space. Now, Ngan Huang at Stanford University in California and her colleagues have analysed the effects of microgravity on muscle cell genetics.