VOA科学技术2024--Research Explores How Space Travel Affects Human Body

Childhood cancer survivor¹ Hayley Arceneaux and three other American civilians² went to space in 2021. They travelled in a mission called Inspiration4 for the private company SpaceX.

The four-member crew made history as the first all-civilian team to orbit Earth. But they also provided the most detailed³ data ever on the effects of space travel on the human body.

New research based on this data details changes in the brain, heart, muscles, kidneys, skin, immune system and stress levels. The research also provides information on the activity of cell structures called mitochondria in zero-gravity, increased radiation, and other changes experienced in space travel.

More than 95 percent of the health changes, or biomarkers, returned to normal levels in the months after the crew returned to Earth. But some abnormalities, including in the mitochondria continued, the researchers said. But the data suggested that spaceflights - at least short-term trips - are not big health risks.

"We did not see anything that was worrisome, thankfully," said Chris Mason. He is a professor of physiology⁴ and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York who helped lead the research. The studies were published Tuesday in Nature and other journals.

Mason added that there was evidence of brain stress during the mission, which has also been found in previous studies.

Mason said this might be explained by findings in experimental mice flown to space. The mice experienced disruptions in the blood-brain barrier, a layer of cells protecting the brain.

Brain function was not affected⁵, Mason noted⁶.

Arceneaux is a doctor's assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and the mission's medical officer. Her three crewmates, two men and one woman, were monitored before, during and after the flight. They went through extensive testing and provided blood, saliva⁷ and other bodily materials.

The research also included information from 64 astronauts who had longer stays on the International Space Station (ISS) and other missions. Inspiration4 flew at about 590 kilometers above Earth, higher than the ISS. That means the crew faced higher radiation levels.

The beginning of a "second Space Age" led by private space travel companies has increased the demand to understand health risks, says Afshin Beheshti. He is with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle, Washington, and helped lead the research.

Researchers consider the amount of time in space to be an important factor in the health effects.

The longer the time in space, "the greater the increase in health risks observed," Beheshti said.

Beheshti added the data detailed the major effect of spaceflight on mitochondrial and immune function.

The "new findings indicate that microgravity and space radiation systematically⁸ affect the body, leading to dysfunction at the cellular⁹ level that impacts multiple organs, including muscles, kidneys, heart, skin, and (central nervous system) tissues," Beheshti said.

He added that spaceflight is known to quicken aging and many diseases. But, he said, the research is identifying major health risks that can be targeted for preventative treatment.

The scientists are looking forward in their work.

"If humans are going to be living and working in space, or living on the moon and Mars," scientists need a basic understanding of how the body responds to space, Mason said.

Words in This Story

immune system - n. the system that protects your body from diseases and infections

stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.

gravity - n. the natural force that tends to cause physical things to move towards each other

function - n. the special purpose or activity for which a thing exists or is used

saliva - n. the liquid produced in your mouth that keeps your mouth moist and makes it easier to swallow food

1 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

8 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

9 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。