WELL, GREETINGS AND
SALUTATIONS THE SCIENTIFIC
DIRECTOR EMERITUS AND STILL
ACTIVE POSITION SCIENTIST IN THE
GENOME HUMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
AT THE NIH AND IT'S MY ENORMOUS
PLEASURE TO INVITE YOU TO
DEMYSTIFYING MEDICINE 2025
BRINGING BIOLOGY, ENGINEERING
AND COMPUTER SCIENCE WITH
MEDICINE.
UP IN THE RIGHT HAND CORNER OF
THE SLIDE YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE
THE ICONIC PHOTO IN THE LATE
1800s OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
BROOKLYN BRIDGE GOING FROM
MANHATTAN TO BROOKLYN.
AND YOU SEE UP ON THE CAT WALK
TWO MEN, PROBABLY ONE OF THEM A
PHYSICIAN FROM MANHATTAN AND
ANOTHER A SCIENTIST FROM
BROOKLYN OR MAYBE VICE VERSA,
BUT IN ANY CASE, THEY'RE
EXCHANGING IDEAS OF BRIDGING
TOGETHER THE LATEST TOPICS IN
MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
PROBABLY FROM THE LATE 1800s
FROM THEIR CLINICAL
APPLICATIONS.
AND WELL, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO
BE FLYING EVEN HIGHER, EVEN
HIGHER THAN THE HEIGHTS OF THE
BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO OUTER PACE
WHERE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT
GENOMICS, ONE OF MY FAVORITE
TOPICS IN OUTER SPACE.
NOW, THIS IS A SERIES TO BRING
YOU BACK DOWN TO EARTH THAT
OCCURS EVERY TUESDAY AFTERNOON
FROM JANUARY THROUGH MAY FROM
3:00 TO 5:00 IN THE AFTERNOON.
AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ON THE
LINK, THE VIDEOCAST LINK THAT'S
SHOWN ON THE SLIDE.
YOU CAN GET CME CREDIT FOR THOSE
WHO WANT IT AND THE CME CODE IS
LISTED THERE FOR THOSE THAT
CAN'T SEE IT, 58791.
AGAIN, THAT'S 58791.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTIONS DURING
THE COURSE OF THE PRESENTATIONS,
WE'LL HAVE TWO PRESENTERS AND
DURING THEIR PRESENTATIONS YOU
WON'T BE ABLE TO ASK THEM
QUESTIONS BUT YOU CAN SEND YOUR
QUESTIONS USING THE SEND LIVE
FEEDBACK BUTTON ON THE VIDEOCAST
DISPLAY.
ALL THE PREVIOUS SESSIONS ARE
ARCHIVED AT THE LINK YOU CAN SEE
THERE AND FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION THERE'S A LINK FOR
THAT.
IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER
IS TO THE SILO FROM THE FIELD
OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE UNITED
STATES WITH THE CORNFIELDS AND
WE'RE TRYING TO BRIDGE THE SILOS
AS WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE 2023.
IN ANY CASE, I WOULD LIKE TO
INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER WHO
IS DR. AFSHIN BEHESHTI WHO IS
THE DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER OF
SPACE BIO MEDICINE AND ASSOCIATE
DIRECTOR OF THE McGOWAN
INSTITUTE FOR REGENERATIVE BIO
MEDICINE AT THE INVESTIGATION OF
PITTSBURGH AND IS A MEMBER OF
THE BLUE MARBLE SPACE INSTITUTE
OF SCIENCE AND GOT HIS BACHELOR
AS'S AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
MINNESOTA AND GOT A Ph.D. IN
PHYSICS FROM FLORIDA STATE
UNIVERSITY.
AND THEN SAW THE LIGHT AND WENT
ON TO DO HIS POSTDOC IN ORAL
BACTERIA AND GENETICS AND IN
CANCER SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AT TUFT'S
UNIVERSITY.
HE'S WON A NUMBER OF AWARDS AND
HONORS INCLUDING THE NASA
EXCEPTIONAL SCIENTIFIC
ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL, THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD
AND NASA OUTSTANDING SERVICE
AWARD.
HIS RESEARCH GROUP CON CAN DUCTS
STUDIES ON MICRORNAs AND
MITOCHONDRIA IN SPACE BIOLOGY
AND COUNTER MEASURES TOGETHER
RADIATION AND MICROGRAVITY AND
INTERESTED IN THAT IN PARTICULAR
AND AFFECTS OF HIGH ALTITUDE ON
HUMAN BIOLOGY.
HE LEADS A SPACE BIO MEDICINE
PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
PITTSBURGH AND PARTNERED TO
COORDINATE THE LARGEST
COLLECTION OF SPACE BIOLOGY
PAPER , THE SPACE OMICS AND
MEDICAL ATLAS THAT WAS PUBLISHED
IN NATURE IN AUGUST OF 2024.
I'LL INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR SECOND
SPEAKER WHO IS DR. CHRISTOPHER
MASON.
HE IS A PROFESSOR OF PHYSIOLOGY
AND BIO PHYSICS AND
COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICS AND
COMPUTATIONAL BIO MEDICINE AT
WEILL CORNELL AND PART OF THE
INITIATIVE FOR QUANTITATIVE
PREDICTION.
HE OBTAINED HIS BACHELOR'S
DEGREE IN GENETICS AND BIO
CHEMISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN-MADISON, HIS Ph.D. IN
GENETICS IN YALE AND POSTDOC IN
GENETICS IN YALE AND VISITING
FELLOW AT YALE LAW SCHOOL.
HE'S THE CHAIR OF THE STEERING
COMMITTEE FOR THE NASA GENE LAB
DATA AND ARCHIVE AND SELECTED BY
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
FOR THE SURVEY FOR NASA.
HIS GROUP IS INVOLVED IN THE
IDENTIFICATION AND
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE
ESSENTIAL GENETIC ELEMENTS THAT
GUIDE THE FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN
GENOME WITH EMPHASIS ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN BRAIN.
HE LED THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION
OF DNA SEQUENCING AT ZERO
GRAVITY AND DESIGN GENOMIC
PROTOCOLS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION AND WAS ONE OF THE
P.I.s ON THE NASA TWINS STUDY.
THE EVENTUAL GOAL IS THE ABILITY
TO REPAIR, REENGINEER OR FORTIFY
GENETIC NETWORKS WITHIN HUMAN
CELLS.
WITH THAT AND WITHOUT FURTHER
ADO, I GIVE YOU DR. BEHESHTI WHO
IS GOING TO RE-GAGALE US ON THE
LATEST WORK.
TAKE IT AWAY.
>> THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT
INTRODUCTION AND THANKS FOR
HAVING ME HERE AND HAVE THE
TALK.
I WAS AT NASA AIMS UNTIL
DECEMBER BUT I STILL HAVE THE
BLUE MARBLE AFFILIATION.
TODAY I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THE
MITOCHONDRIAL IMPACT WE'LL HAVE
IB IN SPACE AND CHRIS WILL TALK
ABOUT THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON ME AND
THE CENTRAL THEME OF MY WORK.
I HAVE TWO.
ONE IS LOOK AT MICRORNAs WHICH
EVERYONE KNOWS FROM LAST YEAR'S
NOBEL PRIZE IT'S AN IMPORTANT
FACTOR IN BIOLOGY WHICH I WON'T
TALK ABOUT TODAY BECAUSE YOU
DON'T WANT TO HEAR THE TALK FOR
THREE HOURS AND THE SECOND IS
MITOCHONDRIAL AND I'M A
PHYSICIST THAT SWITCHED TO
BIOLOGY AND I'M A SYSTEM'S
BIOLOGY AND USE INTEGRATIVE
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS I WORK
WITH.
I WORK AS AN OPEN SCIENCE LARGE
COLLABORATIVE NETWORK OF PEOPLE
FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
I BELIEVE THE MORE THE MERRIER
APPROACH.
PEOPLE AFTER HEARING THE TALK
WANT TO COLLABORATE AND JOIN THE
PROJECTS, THE MORE THE MERRIER.
WE HAVE SENIOR AUTHORS AND FROM
SENIOR FOLKS TO JUNIOR FOLKS YOU
GET MORE DONE WHEN YOU JOIN
FORCES WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE.
WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE
MITOCHONDRIAL AND COUNTER
MEASURES WE STARTED DEVELOPING.
I WORKED ON COVID AND LONG
COVID.
I WON'T GET INTO THIS BUT PLUG
AND PLAY WE BELIEVE COVID AND
LONG COVID IS PROBABLY
MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE THINGS
WE'RE DEVELOPING AS COUNTER
MEASURES CAN EASILY BE APPLIED
TO SOME THINGS IN LONG COVID
HEALTH AND CANCER WORK AND MICRO
RNAs AND THINGS YOU CAN BE
APPLIED TO CANCER BIOLOGY BUT
WE'RE HERE FOR SPACE.
I JOINED PITTSBURGH IN SEPTEMBER
AND IT WAS PITT SPATE WE'RE
CALLING IT WHERE THERE'S THREE
DIFFERENT PILLARS IN PITT THE
SPACE ENGINEERING FOLKS LED BY
DR. GEORGE AND THE SPACE BIO
MEDICINE AND ROBOTICS AND
ENGINEERING COMPONENTS AND
DIFFERENT THINGS MAKING HARDWARE
RUN OR SHIPS DESIGN AND SPACE
SCIENCE THE FUNDAMENTALS LIKE
PHYSICS, GEOLOGY AND THINGS THAT
CAN HAPPEN IN SPACE,
ASTROPHYSICS.
TODAY WE'LL TALK ABOUT SPACE BIO
MEDICINE AND WE CALL OURSELVES
MI
MITOCONDRIACS AND HOW I'VE
ESTABLISHED MY WORK AND HOW
SPACE BIO MEDICINE AT PITT WILL
BE A COLLABORATIVE THING WITHIN
FACULTY AT PITTSBURGH BUT AROUND
THE WORLD AND HELP US DEVELOP
THE PROGRAM.
SOME THINGS TOO AND THERE US AN
ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORKER TO
LEARN ABOUT SPACE AND HOW
EXPERIMENTS ARE DONE.
IT'S A NICE WAY OF FOLLOWING
AFTER NOT SAMPLES TO EXPERIMENTS
I DO HERE ON EARTH AND SIMILAR
EXPERIMENTS TO OTHER THINGS.
TAKE A LOOK AT THAT IF
INTERESTED.
ONE LITTLE PLUG IS I'M TRYING TO
ESTABLISH A GLOBAL CERTIFICATE
PROGRAM AEROSPACE MEDICINE IS
TAUGHT IN DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES
AROUND THE WORLD.
WELL, NO ONE IS THE EXPERT IN
THE SUBJECT BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS
AS YOU'LL SEE THAT WILL CHANGE
IN YOUR BODIES FROM
CARDIOVASCULAR TO BRAIN ISSUES
TO MUSCLE AS YOU GO TO SPACE AND
NO ONE CAN BE AN EXPERT SO WHY
WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER SO GIVE
THE SAME EDUCATION TO STUDENTS
TOO.
WE'RE STARTING TO SET UP A
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM WHERE IT'S
BASICALLY TAUGHT FROM THE KEY
EXPERTS AROUND THE WORLD.
THERE WILL BE GUEST LECTURES BUT
EVERY UNIVERSITY AND INSTITUTION
CAN INTEGRASE THIS INTO THEIR
OWN SYSTEM AND HAVE THE SAME
PEOPLE SIMULTANEOUSLY TEACHING
THEIR STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD.
IT'S NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL BUT
HOWEVER YOU CAN USE THE PROGRAM
WITHIN WE'RE DEVELOPING FROM
EVERY INSTITUTION AROUND THE
WORLD AND CREATE A GLOBAL
EDUCATION WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE
GETTING THE SAME EDUCATION
HARMONIZED AND THE SAME PEOPLE
FROM KEY PEOPLE FROM ASTRONAUTS
TO AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES AND
SPACE AGENCIES LINED UP ALREADY.
BUT AGENCIES AND OTHER THINGS
AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES SO WE'RE
SLOWLY GETTING THIS MOVING AND
THERE'S OTHER DRACSES IN THE
U.S. HAPPENING THESE DAYS THAT
SLOWING THINGS DOWN BUT
HOPEFULLY BY 2026 WILL HAVE
SOMETHING LAUNCHED IF NOT
EARLIER IF NOT EVERY UNIVERSITY
CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE AND EVERY
STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE TOO.
STAY TUNED FOR THAT.
NOW WE GO TO THE SCIENCE.
SINCE I'M GOING FIRST AND WE
HAVE TO GIVE LESS OF A
BACKGROUND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
ABOUT SPACE.
OTHER THAN CAPTURING YOUR
IMAGINATION IN SCI-FI AND PEOPLE
WHO WANT TO STUDY SPACE AND
INTERESTED IN SPACE AND STAR
TREK OR STAR WARS FANS AND
THERE'S SCI-FI NOVELS BUT WE'RE
ALSO PLANNING TO GO BACK TO THE
MOON ACCORDING TO OUR
ADMINISTRATION THEY WANT TO GO
TO MARS IN THE NEXT TWO YEARSES
MAY NOT BE ABOUT FOR HUMANS BUT
EVENTUALLY EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE
AND SOLAR SYSTEM.
PEOPLE ASK WHY SHOULD WE SPEND
ALL THIS MONEY TO SPEND A
LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO
SPACE.
NOT ONLY DOES GOING TO SPACE
SOUND FUN FOR SOME AND EXCITING
BUT IT'S ALSO AN ACCELERATING
PLATFORM FOR AGING AND
MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASES.
FOR EXAMPLE, SOMETHING THAT
TAKES A YEAR ON EARTH IN YOUR
LAB FOR MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE IN
THIS CASE, IN SPACE IN 30 DAYS
OR MONTHS YOU CAN GET THAT
DISEASE DEVELOPED.
THE WHOLE GOAL IS IF YOU'RE ABLE
TO SELL THE MODEL WE SHOULD
BRING IT BACK TO THE CLINIC.
THERE'S APPLICATIONS.
AND A LOT OF THE TECHNOLOGY WE
HAVE HAS BEEN ACCELERATED OR
CREATED.
THE GLASSES YOU WEAR AND THE
ANTI-SCRATCH COATING WAS FOR
SPACE SUITS FOR THE ADVISERS SET
UP TO DEFLECT SPACE DEBRIS.
THAT'S HOW THE APPLICATION WENT
TO THE GLASSES.
THAT'S ONE THERE'S MANY THERE'S
A LOT OF APPLICATIONS AND
MEDICAL ADVANCES WORK IN SPACE
AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW WE'RE
CALLING IT THE SECOND SPACE AGE
BUT IN THE PAST SINCE THE
BEGINNING OF THE SPACE
EXPLORATION DAYS IN THE IN THE
1950s AND '60s THERE WERE
LAUNCHES FROM THE UNITED STATES
TO SATELLITES AND THERE WAS
RUSSIA AND NOW THERE'S MORE
COUNTRIES INVOLVED AND YOU CAN
SEE THE HUGE AMOUNT LAUNCHED IN
THE SPACE IT'S NOT A TWO-STATE
PROBLEM BUT MULTIPLE COUNTRY
PROBLEM BUT NOT PROBLEM BUT RACE
TO SPACE AND COMPANIES LIKE
SPACEX AND BLUE ORIGIN IT
LAUNCHED A SHORT MISSION FOR THE
SIX FEMALE CREW THAT WENT UP
THERE.
THERE'S DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND
COMPANIES.
SO AS I SAID THE EVENTUAL GOAL
IS TO HAVE A BASE ON THE MOON
AND EVENTUALLY GO TO MARS AND
BEYOND.
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO TO
SPACE AND WHY DO I DO ALL THIS
AND CHRIS DOES ALL THIS RESEARCH
AND OTHER FOLKS IN THE FIELD DO
IT?
WELL, WHAT HAPPENS IN SPACE WE
NEED HUMANS TO ADAPT AND TRAVEL
IN SPACE AND SPACE MAY NOT AS
SEXY AND YOU'VE BEEN THINKING
ABOUT AND MAY NOT GO TO SPACE
BECAUSE OF HEALTH ISSUES BUT THE
GOAL IS TO FIGURE THAT OUT AND
MAKE IT SAFE.
THERE'S FIVE HAZARDS.
ONE IS DISTANCE FROM EARTH
DEFINED BY NASA.
YOU CAN'T GO TO THE EMERGENCY
ROOM IF YOU GET SICK AND THAT'S
A HAZARD PEOPLE ARE LOOK AT.
CONFINEMENT MEANING YOUR STUCK
IN A CLOSE TUBE WHICH MAY AFFECT
YOUR FITNESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
WHICH I WON'T TALK ABOUT NOW BUT
IMAGINE IF YOU'RE STUCK IN A
TUBE WITH TEN OTHER PEOPLE FOR A
YEAR.
WOULD YOU END UP MURDERING HALF
OR GETTING ALONG?
THAT'S AN ISSUE HAVE TO THINK
ABOUT PSYCHOLOGISTS AND OTHERS
ARE DOING RESEARCH ON THAT AND
STRESS ON YOUR BODY AND ARE
PEOPLE DOING ASSIMILATED
EXPERIMENTS.
THE HOSTILE CLOSE ENVIRONMENT.
PRONE TO INFECTION AND MICROBES
ARE DEVELOPING AND ANTIMICROBIAL
RESISTANCE AND I'LL TALK ABOUT
THE MICROGRAVITY AND SPACE
RADIATION THAT CAUSE MANY
DIFFERENT HEALTH RISKS.
OF COURSE WE HAVE MANY TOOLS AND
FROM EXPERIMENTS SENT TO SPACE
AND MANY ANIMAL MODELS LIKE WE
DO ON EARTH HUMANS AND COME UP
WITH COUNTER MEASURES.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL AGENCIES WANT
IS THE MAGIC PILL YOU SEE IN
SCI-FI MOVIES AND YOU GET IMMUNE
TO HAZARDS IN SPACE.
THAT'S THE ULTIMATE GOAL BUT WE
HAVE TO DO THE SCIENCE TO FIGURE
THAT OUT.
THE TWO MAJOR HAZARDS I FOCUS ON
ARE SPACE RADIATION AND MICRO
GRAVITY.
YOU DON'T HAVE THE YOU'LL GET
OTHER ISSUES THAT HAPPEN THERE.
BACK WHEN THE FANTASTIC FOUR
DEVELOPED THEIR POWERS MARVEL
THOUGHT YOU'LL GET SUPER POWERS.
YOU HAVE TWO FORMS OF RADIATION.
ONE IS THE SOLAR PARTICLE EVENTS
THE ACUTE DOSE OF PROTONS THAT
HAPPEN AT DIFFERENT ENERGIES
THAT COME IN AND YOU MAY BE ABLE
TO TAKE SOME PRECAUTIONS.
AND THE MAJORITY OF DATA IS AT
LOWER ORBIT IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC
FIELD AND DUE TO THE PHYSICS
WILL LOWER THE DOSE.
EXPERIMENTS THAT HAPPEN THE DOSE
AT LOWER ORBIT IS LESS THAN WHEN
YOU GO TO DEEP SPACE.
SO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
WHAT IS COSM ARRAYS.
WE HAVE THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THE
IONS TRANSFER AND EVERYONE'S
USED TO GAMMA AND X-RAYS AND
THINGS YOU'RE USED TO ARE FAST
MOVING PARTICLES THAT GO THROUGH
YOUR CELLS AND BODY AND TRANSFER
ENERGY AS THEY GO THROUGH YOUR
ENERGY AND SCATTERS ENERGY AND
SOMETIMES YOU GET LARGER
PARTICLES BUT DUE TO THEIR SIZE
THEY MOVE SLOWER BUT TRANSFER
ENERGY TO YOUR CELLS LIKE A
BOWLING BALL BEING DEPOSITED TO
YOUR CELL AND CAUSES MORE
DAMAGE.
SO THIS LITTLE CHART DOWN HERE
IF YOU'RE A YEAR IN SPACE IN THE
ISSI ONE OF THE PLACES WITH
LOWER RADIATION AND HIGHEST IN
IRAN IN A MOUNTAIN THAT HAS HIGH
BACKGROUND RADIATION YOU'RE
EXPOSED TO.
DUE TO THE DIFFERENT BIOLOGY
IT'S THOUGHT THE RADIATION WILL
BE MORE DAMAGING BY TEN TIMES
THAN EQUIVALENT TO EARTH.
THE DAMAGE DONE ARE THE HEAVY
IONS AND THE GRADES WILL BE MORE
DIFFERENT TO YOUR BIOLOGY.
IF YOU GET A CHEST X-RAY WHICH
IS SMALL AN EQUIVALENT DOSE OF
HIGH RADIATION WILL BE FIVE TO
TEN TIMES MORE DAMAGING.
SO IN REALITY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
A SHORT COMIC BOOK THAT WOULD
HAVE HAPPENED WHEN PEOPLE ARE
EXPOSED TO SPACE RADIATION.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET
EXPOSED TO ELEMENTS?
YOU'LL HAVE MULTIPLE HEALTH
RISKS THAT DEVELOP OVER TIME.
THERE'S FEMALE AND MALE
INDEPENDENT ONES AND OUR MIGHTY
EMPEROR AND KING HAS TOLD US
THERE'S NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
MALE AND FEMALE BUT I THINK MOST
PEOPLE BELIEVE THERE IS.
THERE IS MALE AND FEMALE
DEPENDENT CHANGES THAT DEVELOP
OVER TIME.
THERE'S SOME INDEPENDENT OF THAT
RELATED TO THE CHARTS YOU SEE
HERE.
FOR EXAMPLE, BRAIN ISSUES,
CARDIOVASCULAR RISK, RENAL
KIDNEY ISSUES AND INTUITIVELY
THE LONGER TIME YOU SPEND IN
SPACE THE HEALTH RISK WILL BE
COMPOUNDED OVER TIME.
AND NOT EVERY ASTRONAUT LOSES
VISION OR DECLINES IN VISION
WHEN IN SPACE AS REPORTED BUT
FOR EXAMPLE WHEN THEY'RE LONGER
IN SPACE SOME GET VISION LOW AND
NO ONE'S GONE BLIND BUT NEED
GLASSES AND HOW IS THIS IMPACTED
IN DEEP SPACE WITH LIKE A YEAR
TRIP TO MARS.
WHICH ASTRONAUTS ARE MORE
INCLINED TO EXPERIENCE THIS THAN
OTHERS AND WHY.
THAT'S BEEN LOOKED AT BECAUSE WE
DON'T WANT OUR ASTRONAUTS TO GO
BLIND AND OTHER ISSUES TOO.
SO HOW DO WE DO THESE
EXPERIMENTS WHEN WE GO TO SPACE?
ONE, YOU CAN SEND EXPERIMENTS TO
SPACE.
THESE ARE MICE ON THE ISS.
THESE ARE VIDEOS OF THEM AND
MICE SENT TO THE ISS.
YOU CAN SEE THEY ENJOY THEIR
TIME UP THERE UNTIL WE
UNFORTUNATELY HAVE TO SACRIFICE
THEM FOR SCIENCE BUT THEY TEND
TO ADAPT VERY WELL AND HAVE A
GOOD TIME.
OF COURSE SENDING EXPERIMENTS UP
LIKE MICE IS EXPENSIVE.
NOT EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS ANOTHER
WAY IS A PLACE IN LONG ISLAND
NEW YORK BROOK HAVEN NATIONAL
LABS AND NASA EARLIER ON IN
EARLY 2000s LATE '90s SENT UP
THIS LABORATORY TO PRODUCE THE
HEAVY IONS.
BECAUSE THEY TAKE AT TOMS AND
SMASH THEM AND YOU GET PROTEINS
AND OXYGEN AND THINGS YOU CAN
FIND IN SPACE.
NASA TOOK PART OF THE BEAM AND
MADE THE FACILITY TO PUT MICE,
CELLS, PLANT, ANYTHING YOU WANT
AND RADIATE THEM TO ASSIMILATE
THE DOSES YOU MIGHT GET IN
SPACE.
THOSE ARE THE EXPERIMENTS ME AND
OTHERS WOULD DO.
THEN FOR MICRO GRAVITY THERE'S
NO WAY TO ASSIMILATE IT ON EARTH
BUT PEOPLE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
ONE IS THE EXPERIMENT WE DO
WHERE YOU HANG THE MICE BY THE
TAIL AND UNLOADING THE WAIT FOR
TWO OR THREE WEEKS AND GET THE
MUSCLE GENERATION LIKE YOU MIGHT
GET IN SPACE AND YOU SEE SIMILAR
BIOLOGY CHANGE IN MUSCLE TISSUE
OR BONE LOSS AND OTHER MODELS
LIKE WEIGHT BEARING MODELS WHERE
IT'S A HARNESS TO PUT RATS IN
THERE AND ASSIMILATE THE GRAVITY
ON THE MOON OR IN MARS AND SO
ON.
SOMETHING I WON'T TALK ABOUT
TODAY, PEOPLE LAUNCH OTHER
THINGS IN SPACE.
YOU CAN IMAGINE ANY BIOLOGICAL
OR ANIMALS OR SPECIMENS AND
PEOPLE HAVE LAUNCHED WORMS,
ZEBRAFISH, FRUIT FLIES,
DROSOPHILA AND HOW PLANTS MAY
CHANGE IN SPACE AND GROW THEM IN
SPACE TO MAKE SUSTAINABLE FOOD
AND HOW MICROBES CHANGE ON THE
WALLS AND THE GUT MICROBIAL
PROFILES.
THERE'S BEEN STUDIES ON THOSE
TOO AND EVEN FUNGI THAT ADAPT
AND PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT HOW
THEY ADAPT AND WHY AND HOW THEY
CAN BE USED FOR POSITIVE THINGS.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS YOU CAN
CHANGE IN SPACE AND THESE COULD
BE USED IN THE CLINIC.
SPACE AIDS IN AGING AND IT CAN
BE APPLIED BACK TO CLINIC AND
UNDERSTANDING FUNDAMENTAL OF
AGING AND CURE DISEASES OR COME
UP WITH THERAPIES.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY OR
RESOURCES, NASA CREATED THIS
EARLY ON WHEN I FIRST JOINED
NASA AIMS CALLED GENE LAB THEN
AND NOW CALLED OPEN DATA
PLATFORM AND NOW IT HAS
EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN RELATED
TO DATA FOR WELLNESS SPACE OR
ASSIMILATED ONES.
A LOT OF MY EXPERIMENTS THAT END
UP ARE HERE AND OTHERS' TOO.
AND THE ANALYSIS IS THE RESOURCE
FOR MICE SENT TO SPACE AND OTHER
ORGANISMS.
THIS SHOWS FOR PEOPLE THAT MAY
HAVE A HYPOTHESIS AND WANT TO
SEE IF IT WORKS.
IT'S A GOOD HYPOTHESIS
GENERATING PLATFORM.
THERE'S A LOT OF PAPER PACKAGES.
ONE WE DID EARLIER IF PEOPLE
WANT TO GET FAMILIAR WITH AND
SOME REVIEWS ARE THERE.
THIS PACKAGE IN 2020 HAD THE
FIRST FOCUS SHOWING
MITOCHONDRIAL WAS KEY I'LL GO
INTO AND IN THE INTRODUCTION
TALKED ABOUT THE OTHER PORTFOLIO
PACKAGE CHRIS AND I DID LAUNCHED
IN JUNE AND RELATED TO
COMMERCIAL MISSIONS.
THIS IS A MISSION CHRIS WAS A
MAIN P.I. ON AND THERE'S 44
PAPERS AND SOME WERE FROM CHRIS
AND I KNOW THERE'S A NEW
DIRECTOR AND IS A NEW SHINING
LIGHT IN SCIENCE AND HE BELIEVES
IN SCIENCE AND WILL MAKE MY PUB
DATA PUBLIC AND USE THE ACCESS
TO SPACE TO CREATE KNOWLEDGE
THAT CAN HELP FUTURE MISSIONS.
AGE WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE
PLATFORM AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL
PROGRAM AND MINE THE DATA AND
PATHWAYS AND SURE CHRIS WILL
TALK ABOUT THAT.
SO THIS PACKAGE DATA FROM THERE.
ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THE
ISS IS 420 KILOMETERS AND IF YOU
GO CLOSER THE RADIATION GOES UP
AND THEY GOT HIGHER DOSE KEEP IN
MIND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA
AND THE DOSES THEY GOT WERE
SOMETHING ELSE TO BE LOOKED AT.
WHAT IS MORE RELEVANT THE
MICROGRAVITY GRAVITY OR THE
SPACE RADIATION.
AND IN THE MISSION SINCE IT'S
ONLY THREE AND A HALF DAYS THE
EFFECTS I'LL SHOW YOU IS
PROBABLY MORE RELATED TO THE
RADIATION EFFECT THAN THE
MICROGRAVITY AND IT HAS IMPACT
BUT IT'S INTERESTING IN MY
OPINION IS THAT.
WE HAVE ANOTHER PAPER COMING OUT
NEXT YEAR IN MARCH AND THIS TIME
IT'S DEEP SPACE AND COUNTER
MEASURES.
A LOT OF IT'S GOING TO BE
FOCUSSED ON CHRIS WHO IS ALSO
THE P.I. ON THE MISSION THAT
HAPPENED LAST SEPTEMBER HE'LL
TALK ABOUT BUT THEY WENT UP AND
WENT PAST FROM THE APOLLO
MISSION AND FIRST TIME WE'RE
GETTING DATA FROM THE AREA OF
SPACE LARGELY UNTOUCHED THROUGH
BIOLOGY.
SO THIS PAPER PACKAGE IS IN THE
WORKS.
IF PEOPLE HAVE PAPER IDEAS OR
SUBMISSIONS, CONTACT US.
GLOBALLY WE SAID THE NATURE
PACKAGE WAS THE LARGEST.
WE HAVE 191 PAPER S PAPERS IN TT
AND WHAT IS THE LARGE PAPER
PACKAGES YOU CAN CREATE THE MATH
EASILY.
IF PEOPLE HAVE IDEAS ON PAPERS
PLEASE CONTACT US AND WE CAN
CREATE THAT MAGIC PILL AND MAKE
IT SAFE FOR EVERYONE.
SPACE ITSELF IS ESTIMATED TO BE
A $2 TRILLION INDUSTRY IN THE
NEXT 10 YEARS, NEXT DECADE.
IT'S ALREADY GROWING PRETTY
RAPIDLY.
THAT'S ANOTHER REASON PEOPLE ARE
INTERESTED IN SPACE BECAUSE
THERE'S SO MANY THINGS TO DO AND
DEFINITELY WE HAVE TO MAKE IT
SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO TRAVEL IN
SPACE.
LET'S GET IN THE MITOCHONDRIAL
PARTICIPANT OF SPACE.
IT PROVIDES 90% OF YOUR BODY'S
ENERGY AND 20% OF THE CELL
VOLUME IS MITOCHONDRIA AND YOUR
BRAIN IS 2% OF YOUR BODY MASS
BUT 20% OF THE MITOCHONDRIA IN
THE BRAIN.
YOU DON'T WANT YOUR MITOCHONDRIA
DAMAGE IN THE BRAIN BECAUSE IT
CAN AFFECT THE COGNITIVE ISSUE
AND IT HAS IN OWN DNA.
MITOCHONDRIA WAS A BACTERIA
PEOPLE THOUGHT AND NATURE
DECIDED OR EVOLUTION DECIDED
IT'S ADVANTAGEOUS FOR ORGANISMS
AND NOW YOU HAVE MITOCHONDRIA
PER CELL THAT CREATE ENERGY AND
THIS IS THE BASIC HEALTHY
FUNCTION OF MITOCHONDRIA AND YOU
CAN PRODUCE ATP AND ENERGY
PRODUCTION AND THEN YOU HAVE
MITOCHONDRIAL DNAs THERE TO
PRODUCE THE ENERGETIC MATERIAL
YOU NEED AND THERE'S RELATED
MITOCHONDRIA DNA AND THEN THE
IMPACT CAN HAPPEN AND YOU KEEP
HEALTHY IN YOUR CELLS.
WHEN THERE'S DISEASE IN THE
BODY, IT'S SOMETIMES STRESSED
AND WE HAVE SPECIES CREATES
CREATING A HYPOXIC AREA AND
METABOLISM GETS IMPACTED AND
IT'S DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR HEALTH
AND START DEVELOPING DISEASES.
OVERSIMPLIFIED VIEW FOR SAKE OF
TIME BUT AGING INCREASES THE
MITOCHONDRIAL MUTATIONS AND THE
ENERGY PRODUCTION GOES DOWN AND
THAT'S ANOTHER THING WITH AGING
THAT'S A BIG PLAYER WITH
MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION ONE OF
THE HALLMARKS OF AGING THAT
HELPS PROMOTE CERTAIN DISEASES
TOO.
THAT'S THE PARALLEL YOU'LL SEE A
LOT WHEN I SHOW YOU THE DATA IN
SPACE.
MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASES ARE
PASSED DOWN AND ONE DISCOVERED
IN THE '80 WAS SHOWN TO BE
PASSED DOWN BY THE MOTHER.
NUCLEAR DNA PASSED BY BOTH.
MITOCHONDRIAL CHANGES AND WOMEN
ARE THE KEY AND MITOCHONDRIAL
MUTATION THAT HAPPENS WITHIN THE
MATERNAL SIDE WILL BE PASSED
DOWN.
SO IMAGINE IN SPACE IF YOU ARE
EXPOSED TO THESE ELEMENTS AND
GET IMPACTED BY MITOCHONDRIAL
DNA MUTATIONS OCCUR AND THE
WOMAN COMES BACK TO EARTH AND
WANTS TO HAVE KIDS AND THAT
COULD BE PASSED DOWN TO YOUR
CHILDREN SO WE SHOULD LOOK OUT
FOR THAT.
AND ALMOST EVERY DISEASE AND
ORGAN IN YOUR BODY CAN BE
IMPACTED AND SIMILAR TO WHAT
HAPPENS IN SPACE.
YOU SEE THERE'S IT MITOCHONDRIAL
DISEASES.
THE FIRST PAPER WE WORKED ON
HERE IN THE FIRST CELL PACKAGE
AND WE HAD ANALYSIS WORKING
GROUPS LED BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE
IN THE MULTI-OMICS GROUP ANYONE
CAN JOIN AND THIS IS A PROJECT
THAT TURNED OUT TO BE A HIGH
IMPACT PAPER AND IS THERE A
MASTER REGULATOR AND SWITCH BUT
EVERYONE WENT TO THE GENE LAB
AND NOW IT'S THE OPEN DATA
SCIENCE PLATFORM AND THE DATA
WAS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME.
LOOKED AT METABOLOMICS AND
LOOKED AT THE ORGANS AND THE TOP
HIT WAS MITOCHONDRIA.
WE LOOKED AT DOWN STREAM IMPACT
AND THAT WAS THE CASE AND WE HAD
FROM OUR COLLABORATORS WE LOOK
AT MARKERS CIRCLING IN THE BLOOD
OR URINE WITH IMMUNE FUNCTIONS
THAT INDEED WERE CONFIRMATORY
FROM ASTRONAUTS.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF
SCIENCE LOOKED AT THIS AND THEY
TALK ABOUT MITOCHONDRIA AS
SOMETHING PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK AT
IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
THAT WAS NICE TO SEE.
NOW WE'VE DONE THIS REALLY IN
DEPTH ANALYSIS AND CHRIS IS
INVOLVED IN THIS AND OTHER
FOLKS.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE.
THERE'S ABOUT 50 AUTHORS AND
THIS IS CALLED SPACE
MITOCHONDRIA 2.0 AND WE'LL SEE
IF I CAN SNEAK THE TITLE IN.
I DO LOTS OF OTHER WORKS AND
CREATE PATHWAYS RELATED TO OUR
LONG COVID WORK AND THERE'S
PATHWAYS AVAILABLE FROM
MITOCHONDRIA AND WE APPLIED
THESE PATHWAYS AND PIPELINES TO
THIS WORK HERE.
WOE WANT TO THE NASA OPEN DATA
PLATFORM AND THEY HAVE MORE DATA
SETS AVAILABLE PREVIOUSLY FROM
FIVE YEARS AGO THAT WASN'T
THERE.
WE MINED EVERYTHING AND WANTED
TO LOOK AT ALL ORGANISMS.
SO THERE'S ALL THESE MISSIONS
FROM DIFFERENT STRAINS FROM MICE
UP IN THE ISS AND THEN RETURNED
TO EARTH FOR DIFFERENT DURATIONS
UP TO 30 DAYS.
AND OLD SHUTTLE MISSIONS AND
DURATIONS YOU SEE THE EQUIVALENT
WE GOT.
ONE THING THAT STRATIFIED THIS
DEPENDING ON THE ORGAN YOU HAVE
SENSITIVITIES.
FOR EXAMPLE YOUR MUSCLE OR BONES
ARE MORE RADIO RESISTANT DUE TO
DENSITY AND OTHER FACTORS.
THERE'S IMMUNE CELLS, SPLEEN AND
SKIN AND EYES.
WE CATEGORIZED WHAT YOU'LL SEE
HERE AND GOT REVIEWER COMMENTS
BACK AND OVER ALL IT SEEMS IT
MAY BE TOO DEEP SO WE'RE REP
REPRODING THEM BUT WE'RE STUCK
WITH THIS FOR NOW.
WE'LL SHOW EX-PHPHOS IS SUPPRES
IN SPACE AND YOU SEE THE
METABOLIC FACTORS AND THERE'S
THINGS RELATED TO CALCIUM
SIGNALLING CREATING THE SPECIES
AND CONTRIBUTE TO THAT FURTHER.
AND YOU'LL SEE ONCE THAT HAPPENS
HYPOXIA GOES UP AND METABOLISM
ACTIVITY GETS RANDOM LIKE CANCER
BIOLOGY WHICH MOST PEOPLE KNOW.
CANCER RISK IS ONE THING PEOPLE
ARE WORRIED ABOUT TOO.
THEN DOWN STREAM THE IMMUNE
SYSTEM GETS DYSREGULATED.
THIS IS WHAT WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK
AT THE DATA.
WITH ALL THE DATA WHICH I'M NOT
GOING TO SHOW YOU.
WE DID PROTEOMIC AND METHYLATION
AND OTHER THINGS.
I'LL SHOW HIGHLIGHTS DUE TO SAKE
OF TIME SINCE I'M ALMOST AT THE
END BUT I'LL GO THROUGH IT
QUICKLY.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT RADIATION
RESISTANT TISSUE LIKE MUSCLE
THESE WERE THE MICE IN ISS.
THE LONGER YOU'RE IN SPACE YOU
SEE THE EXPRESSION AND THIS IS
EXPHOS AND THIS IS LOOKING AT
PATHWAY ANALYSIS.
THERE'S A VERSION WHERE YOU SEE
THE EXPRESSION HAPPENING, GREEN
OR PURPLE AND MAGENTA MEANS
UPREGULATED.
WE HAVE THE MITOCHONDRIA AND THE
PATHWAY WE CAN GET THE OVER ALL
VIEW.
WE SEE INDEED THE LONGER THEY'RE
IN SPACE WE SEE MORE SUPPRESSION
IN THE MUSCLE AND 30 DAYS
AFTERWARDS WE SEE THAT
HAPPENING.
THEN WE HAVE HYPOXIC EVENTS AND
DYSREGULATING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE INTERMEDIUM
RESISTANT ONES AND LONGER IN
SPACE MORE SUPPRESSION HAPPENING
AND START TO SEE THE BODY
BECOMING DYSREGULATED AND THEN
THE SUPPRESSION OF MITOCHONDRIA
HAPPENS AND SUSTAINED WHEN THEY
RETURN TO EARTH.
AND IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE DUE TO
THE PHYSICAL IMPACT OF HAVING NO
GRAVITY.
WE KNOW FROM CLINICAL DATA FROM
MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASES CAN CAUSE
BLINDNESS DUE TO THE
MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION.
I THINK THAT WILL BE SOMETHING
WE'LL START SHOWING IS MORE AND
MORE THE CASE AND THEN THE
PHYSICAL IMPACT WILL MAKE IT
PROGRESS FURTHER.
THIS IS LOW DOSE SUMMARY LOOKING
HOW THE ORGANS CHANGE.
THE HIGHER THE DOSE THE MORE
EXPRESSION OF MITOCHONDRIA ORE
TIME AND THIS IS THE LONG
LASTING AFFECT THAT HAPPENS.
SO FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, THIS
OUTLINES THE OVER ALL DATA WHERE
THE MAIN DIFFERENCE THE
SIMILARITIES HAPPEN WHETHER
YOU'RE RADIO RESISTANT TISSUES
AND WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN THE
RADIO -- RADIO SENSITIVE TISSUE
VERSUS THE RADIO RESISTANT
TISSUE IS THE EXPHOS TISSUES ARE
BEING SUPPRESSED AND THAT WAS
INTERESTING TO SEE.
DID THEY GET COOKED AND THEY GOT
4.7 MILLIGRADE WHICH IS HIGHER
THAN THREE DAYS IF YOU'RE ON THE
ISS FOR A MONTH YOU GET HALF THE
DOSE IN THREE DAYS WHICH IS
INTERESTING.
THEY HAD AN 87 DAY RECOVERY TIME
AND LONGER THAFT.
-- LONGER AFTER THAT.
AND THERE'S MITOCHONDRIAL
DYSFUNCTION THAT HAPPENS FROM
ONE DAY COMING BACK COMPARED TO
THEIR BASELINE LEVELS BEFORE
FLIGHT AND FROM 82 DAYS.
OVER ALL WHEN YOU LOOK AT SINGLE
CELL ANALYSIS OVER THE CELL
TYPES YOU SEE IMMUNE AND
EXPRESSION HAPPENS AND THIS
SHOWS THE PATHWAYS COMPARED TO
PREFLIGHT AND IF IT'S BLUE IT'S
TO THE SIDE OF THE ACCESS AND
SUPPRESSED.
AND THE MONOCYTES AFTER 82 DAYS
ARE HEAVILY IMPACTED SO QUE HAD
TO ASK THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T
ADMIT THEY WERE TIRED BUT
PROBABLY HAD SOME FATIGUE OR
SOME MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION
HAPPENING.
THIS I'LL GLANCE OVER BECAUSE WE
SAW IN CHRIS'S LAB LOOKING AT
THE SPECIFIC MITOCHONDRIAL GENES
RELATED FOR EXAMPLE ARE
SUSTAINING WITH 82 DAYS LONG
TERM AFTER THEY'VE COME BACK.
THIS IS PROBABLY SUSTAINED
REMODELLING IN THE CHROMATIN
IMPACTING BIO GENESIS.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED.
WE SAW THAT IN THE EPIGENETIC
LEVEL AND DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF
SPACE.
AND ONE LAST THING IS THE
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA IS A MARKER OF
THE SPACE HEALTH AND THIS IS A
120 DAY MISSION IN THE ISS AND
HAD DATA POINTS FOR 160 POINTS
LATER AND WE LOOKED AT THE
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA IN THE
ASTRONAUTS AND DURING THE
MISSION YOU SEE HEAVY
UPREGULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL
DNA.
WHEN THEY COME BACK NO MATTER
THE MISSION THEY HAVE
SUPPRESSION HAPPEN.
MY HYPOTHESIS IS INDEED ONE
THING IS METAPHAGY IS
DYSREGULATED IN SPACE AND IT
DIDN'T GO THROUGH THE REGULAR
PROCESS OF YOUR BODY CLEARING IT
OUT.
IT CAUSES DYSREGULATION AND THEN
WE SEE THE TRUE SUPPRESSION
HAPPENING LONG TERM.
IT'S NOT ALL GLOOM AND DOOM.
ARE THERE PROTECTIVE COUNTER
MEASURES?
THERE MIGHT BE.
THERE'S A SUPPLEMENT THAT MIGHT
MITIGATION AND THERE'S A NATURAL
FLA
FLAVINOID OF THINGS YOU HE'D AND
BLUEBERRIES AND TOP GREEN LEAF
VEGETABLES IS WATER CRESS.
IT CONTAINS A LOT OF THE
KAEMPFEROL AND FROM THE
ASSIMILATED MICE EXPERIMENTS WE
LOOKED AT THE LIVERS WITH IT BY
ITSELF NO CHANGE IN THE LIVER
WEIGHTS BUT WHEN YOU GIVE THE
RADIATION YOU GET SIGNIFICANT
REDUCTION IN LIVER WEIGHTS WHICH
IS USUALLY BASED ON DISEASES.
THIS IS AN IMPLICATIONS IF YOU
HAD FATTY LIVER DISEASE AND HAVE
A DECLINE AND YOU SEE THIS A
WEEK AFTER BUT THE DOVE DEF
BUT THE KAEMPFEROL BEFORE AND
THEY START RECOVERING BACK TO
NORMAL LOOKING AT DIFFERENT
LIVER PRODUCTION AND SAME
PATTERNS WITH DRUG ABSORPTION
ACTIVITY IN THE ORGANOIDS AND
YOU RECOVER BACK TO NORMAL.
AND YOU SEE A GREAT RESPONSE
FROM THE THREE WEEKS WE GOT THE
MICE.
AND FUTURE WORK IS WE'RE LOOKING
AT ME MOON DOSE AND HOW THAT
IMPACTS THE MOON MISSION BECAUSE
THE MOON HAS VERY FINE POWDER
WHEN ONCE IT GETS IN THE SUIT
YOU BREATHE IT AND HOW DOES THAT
IMPACT YOUR BIOLOGY AND THAT'S
MORE TO COME.
THAT'S IT.
>> YOU TALKED JUST THE RIGHT
LENGTH OF TIME.
THAT WAS FANTASTIC.
VERY ENJOYABLE.
WE'LL GO RIGHT TO CHRIS'S
PRESENTATION.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE Q&A
AFTERW
AFTERWARDS.
CHRIS, TAKE IT AWAY.
>> CAN YOU SEE AND HEAR ME OKAY.
IS IT COMING THROUGH ALL RIGHT?
>> YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
>> GREAT.
IT SETS THE STAGE PERFECTLY AND
AND THE BACKGROUND AND OUR LAB
LOOKS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND
YOU CAN SEE THE SLIDES AND HEAR
ME OKAY.
>> NO SLIDES BUT THE VOLUME IS
FINE.
>> SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
HAVING ME.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE AND
REALLY EXCITED TO AND IT'S A
DIFFERENT ERA AND WALK YOU
THROUGH THE WORK WE'VE DONE FROM
DIFFERENT MISSIONS AN DATA SETS
AND TOOLS AND IMPACT AND PLANS
LOOKING AHEAD.
FIRST, IT'S WORTH NOTING THERE'S
A PLAN TO MAKE HUMANS AND
INTERPLANETARY SPECIES AND THE
HOPE AND DREAM IS WE HAVE A
CONTINUAL EXCHANGE OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY AND NEIGHBORING
EXPIRATION BETWEEN OUR PLANETS
AND THIS IS A NICE RENDERING OF
WHAT WE HOPE WILL HAPPEN OVER
THE COMING DECADES.
AND ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT'D BE
'29 AND THEN MAYBE '30s AND LAST
FALL THERE WAS A NEW DISCUSSION
WE MIGHT GET THE FIRST UNCREWED
STAR SHIP TO GO TO MARS MAYBE
NEXT YEAR AND FIRST CREWED
FLIGHTS TO MARS COULD HAPPEN
WITHIN THREE TO FOUR YEARS
POTENTIALLY.
THERE'S EXCITING AND THERE'S
SOME TWEETS ABOUT WHAT COULD
HAPPEN BUT IT DOES DEPEND ON US
HAVING A SELF-SUSTAINING CITY ON
MARS AND THESE GOALS ARE VERY
AMBITIOUS.
SOME WILL SAY IT WILL TAKE 10
TIMES LONGER BUT UNTIL RECENTLY
IT WASN'T POSSIBLE.
WE LOOKED AT THE HISTORY OF
SPACE FLIGHT AND OBJECTS AND
GRUZ LAU OBJECTS AND CREWS AND
THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF OBJECTS
AND CREWS LAUNCHED INTO SPACE.
YOU SEE 1957 WAS SPUTNIK AND IT
WAS A SLOW CADENCE OF LAUNCHES
PER YEAR ACROSS THE WORLD AND
RECENTLY THE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE
HIGHER AND LED BY SPACEX.
MAYBE IT'S POSSIBLE BECAUSE
THERE'S WHERE WE COULD IMAGINE
GETTING OUT IN THE MOON AND MARS
AND OTHER AMBITIOUS MISSION.
YOU HEARD CAN THE BODY SURVIVE
THE TRIP AND THERE'S A NICE
RENDERING AND SOME OF THE RISKS
WE DO KNOW ALREADY.
AND SOME HAVE LOOKED AT THE
HAZARDS OF SPACE ENVIRONMENT AND
SOME INCLUDE DAMAGE TO THE EYE
AND YOU CAN HAVE THROMBOSIS AND
ANEMIA HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED
FOR ALMOST ALL CREWS AND CHANGES
IN THE BODY AND RESPIRATORY AND
METABOLISM AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHM.
IT'S NO JOKE A DIFFICULT
STRESSOR TO ABSORB THE RADIATION
AND MICROGRAVITY CHANGES AND THE
STRESS OF IT ALL IT'S NOT QUITE
A VACATION SPOT YET.
IT'S WORK AND STRESSFUL.
TO UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES YOU
HEARD A BIT ABOUT THE ANIMAL OR
MOUSE MODELS AND OTHER TOOLS TO
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES IN
THE HUMAN BODY AND IN THE EARLY
DAYS THEY WOULD TAKE ANIMALS AND
PUT THEM IN APE PARABOLIC AND
ONE EXAMPLE IS CATS AND ASK THE
AGE OLD QUESTIONS DO CATS ALWAYS
LAND ON THEIR FEET?
NO, THEY DO NOT BUT THEY DO TRY.
THEY'RE WONDERFULLY EMBLEMATIC
OF WHAT HAPPENS TO HUMANS OR
RODENTS IN SPACE.
IT'S A HARD ADAPTATION TO THE
ENVIRONMENT.
NOW WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK
AT THE LONG-TERM MISSIONS AND
THIS LOOKED AT WHAT CHANGES
HAPPENED TO SCOTT KELLY ONCE IN
SPACE AND THIS IS SENATOR MARK
KELLY ON THE LEFT NOW BECOMING A
SENATOR OR IS A SENATOR SIT
HARDER TO BE AN ASTRONAUT OR
SENATOR AND IS THERE A GENETIC
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEMOCRAT OR
REPUBLICAN?
COULD YOU MODIFY ONE?
IT'S NOT POSSIBLE AND WE DID A
PROMPT AND YOU MIGHT THINK,
WELL, THAT'S KIND OF
PREPOSTEROUS BUT PEOPLE HAVE
STUDIED THIS.
AND IS THERE AN ASSOCIATION
BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHO DID AND
THEIR GENETICS AND TURNS OUT
THERE'S A SPOT ON CHROMOSOME 3
STRONGLY ASSOCIATED.
THIS WAS INTERESTING THINKING
ABOUT THE COMPONENTS OF WHAT
DRIVES PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR OR
VOTING PATTERNS.
IT'S LIKELY JUST SUBTLE
POPULATION STRATIFICATION IN
THIS CASE IF YOU CHANGED THE
LOCUS WOULD YOU CHANGE THE VOTE?
IT'S FASCINATING THERE'S
POPULATION CERTIFICATION AND
THERE ARE OTHER REASONS.
FOR EXAMPLE, HOW CLOSE WERE YOU
TO A FISH AND CHIP SHOP IS A
STRONG DERM DETERMINATE.
IT'S INTERESTING TO END MY
POLITICAL SIDE BAR.
WE DID A DEEP ANALYSIS AND
LOOKED FOR CLUSTERS OF MOLECULES
AND CHANGES THAT CHANGE
DYNAMICALLY DURING THE FLIGHT
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THERE ARE
SOME CLUSTERS OF BIOLOGY THAT
CHANGE BUT MOST WENT BACK TO
NORMAL AND WE CAN SEE MICROBES
WENT UP AND PROTEINS AND
METABOLITES AND THE TELOMERES
GOT LONGER AND WE VALIDATED THIS
WITH SEQUENCING AND CONFIRMED
THERE ARE LONGER TELOMERES AND
THERE'S A STRIKING FEATURE.
BASICALLY SCOTT KELLY GAINED TWO
INCHES DUE TO LACK OF
COMPRESSION AND GOT GENETICALLY
YOUNGER SO THERE'S HILARIOUS
HEADLINES HE GOT TALLER AND
YOUNGER AND THE BEST DIET IS
GOING TO SPACE BUT DOESN'T STAY
THAT WAY.
YOU GET THE BENEFIT AND YOUR
TELOMERES ARE LONGER AND THEY GO
BACK TO NORMAL.
YOU'RE HEIGHT GOES AWAY AND THE
WAIT NORMALLY COMES BACK.
AND SOME WE THINK YOU PERSIST
OUT IN THE MONTH'S TIME FRAME
LIKE MITOCHONDRIAL CHANGES.
THERE'S TWO BIG POINTS ABOUT THE
STUDY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MISSIONS OF
OTHER 29 ASTRONAUTS THERE'S
INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES BETWEEN
THE CREW MEMBERS.
ON A SIX-MONTH MISSION CHANGES
AND OTHER CASES HAD THE LARGEST
CHANGE OBSERVED ON THE DAY OF
LANDING AND YOU WANT THE RIGHT
TOOL AT THE RIGHT DOSE FOR THE
RIGHT PATIENT THE CHANGES IN
DYNAMICS IN RESPONSE TO SPACE
FLIGHT ARE INDIVIDUALIZED AND
SPECIFIC AND COULD BENEFIT FROM
SOME OF THE GOALS AND PRACTICES
AND TECHNOLOGIES OF PRECISION
MEDICINE AND PERSONALIZED
MEDICINE.
THAT'S ONE POINT I WANT TO MAKE.
THERE IS A LOT OF HETEROGENEITY
IN SPACE AND IT IS A SMALL END
PROBLEM.
CLEARLY WE THESE MORE DATA.
WE NEED THE ABILITY TO HAVE
ENOUGH DATA TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT
CONCLUSIONS AND BEGIN TO MAKE
CONCLUSIONS MORE ROBUST FOR THE
CREW MEMBERS.
WE MADE INACTIVE SPACE AND WANT
TO LOOK AT THE STUDY OFF THE
TWINS STUDY ACCRUE -- A CREW TO
SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THE
FIRST WAS WITH THE MISSION AND
ALL CIVILIAN CREW MEMBERS
GETTING READY TO GO TO SPACE AND
DEPLOYED THIS THE PROTOCOLS FOR
THE SPACE OMICS AND PROTOCOL FOR
MEMBERS.
INCLUDING GENOMIC SEQUENCING AND
CYTOKINES AND WHAT WE LOOKED AT
IN THE TWIN STUDY, SKIN, SALIVA,
REPRODUCTIVE TISSUE AND INCLUDED
SKIN BIOPSIES TOE LOOK -- TO
LOOK AT THE SKIN AND THEY MADE
THEIR WAY UP TO SPACE AND THEY
TOOK A SELFIE IN SPACE AND IT'S
AN EXCITING TIME TO POKE AROUND
THE ENVIRONMENT.
WE WORKED WITH THE CREW AND THEY
DID THE FIRST EVER ACTUAL
ULTRASOUND OF THEIR EYES.
THEY DID THE BUTTERFLY DEVICE
WHICH CONNECTS TO YOUR PHONE.
YOU CAN DO A QUICK IMAGING OF
YOUR EYE EVEN WHILE YOU'RE ON
EARTH SO ENABLED THE REMOTE
CARE.
AND WE DID PUBLISH A LOT OF THE
WORK LAST SUMMER IN TERMS OF THE
LARGE SOMA PACKAGE OF DIFFERENT
METHODS AND TOOLS AND YOU CAN
SEE SOME OF THE OMICS DATA THAT
WAS DONE YOU CAN SEE A WIDE
RANGE OF ASSAYS THAT WERE DONE
AND THROUGH THE BLADDER AND
JUGULAR VEIN AND NOT ON THE EYE
BUT GOT 1078 METRICS.
AGAIN, THIS IS A CREW BUT THEY
HAD JUST BEEN TRAINED IN A
MATTER OF MONTHS AND MADE THEIR
WAY AND GOT TRAINING AND DID
MEASUREMENTS.
AND REMEMBER AND YOU SEE HERE IT
THEY ARE DID NOT CHANGE ON EARTH
AND IN DAYS WE SEE THE LONGER
TELOMERES IN FLIGHT AND THE
RECOVERY STAYED LOW.
IT WAS BARELY SIGNIFICANT BULL
WE COULD PICK THIS UP WHICH IS
INTERESTING TO SEE THE RAPID
DYNAMIC CHANGE.
AND WE LOOKED AT THE MICROBIOME.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE FLOW THE
MICROBIOME CAN CHANGE IN A
MATTER OF DAYS IF YOU'VE HAD A
G.I. PROBLEM YOU KNOW IT CAN
CHANGE IN HOURS OR MINUTES.
WE WANTED TO SEE HOW FAST THIS
WOULD CHANGE DUE TO SKIN
DYNAMICS IN SPACE.
WE LOOKED AT THE DYNAMICS
OBSERVED IN THE NUMBER OF
MICROBES REPRESENTED BY THE
THICKNESS OF THE LINE AND EACH
IS A DIFFERENT SPECIES.
WE SEE THE CHANGES OF TRANSFERS
IN THE SPACEX CAPSULE AND CREW
MEMBERS AND IT'S REALLY
INTRIGUING DYNAMIC CHANGE
MOVEMENT OF MICROBES WITHIN THE
MISSION.
IT'S FASCINATING TO SEE HOW THEY
CHANGE.
IS HOW THE MICROBIOME IS
CHANGING AND GOT MORE IN THE
MISSION WITHIN DAYS.
AND ANOTHER COUPLE THINGS WE
LOOKED AT WAS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
AND MICROBIOME AND YOU CAN LOOK
AT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
SOME CELLS ARE MORE SENSITIVE
PARTICULARLY T CELLS AND LARGER
CHANGES IN GRAY HOW MANY WERE
UNIQUE TO THE CELL TYPE BUT ALL
PRESENT IN THE CELL TYPE AND NOT
EVERY CELL HAS THE SAME
RESPONSE.
SOME ARE MORE RESILIENT AND SOME
ARE LESS DYNAMIC AND WE LOOK AT
CELL SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN
RESPONSE TO SPACE FLIGHT FOR THE
FIRST TIME HERE IN THIS MISSION.
AM WE LOOKED AT WHAT'S CALLED
EXOSOMES AND EXTRA CELLULAR
VESICLES AND PARTICLES IMAGINE
BUBBLES THAT COME UP FROM YOUR
CELLS AND EJECTED AND WE CAN
LOOK AT PLASMA AND SMALL
MOLECULES AND SEE WHAT CHANGED,
BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE
MISSION AND THE BRAIN ASSOCIATED
PEP TIGHTS.
AND THEY INCREASED WITHIN IT
LANDING AND WENT BACK TO NORMAL
AFTER BUT THERE WAS BRAIN
ASSOCIATED PEPTIDES THAT MADE US
HYPOTHESIZE THERE WAS A BLOOD
BRAIN BARRIER ISSUES AND WE HAD
FLOWN SOME RODENTS
>> SPACE AND THE PLATELET
INDICATES A MARKER FOR BLOOD
BRAIN BARRIER INTEGRITY AND
WE'RE SEEING IT MODIFIED AND
CHANGING IT'S PERMEABILITY AND
MAYBE THAT'S WHAT'S PART OF THE
STRESS ON THE EYES OR BODY AND
MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR DRUG
METABOLISM AND WE'LL KEEP
LOOKING AT THIS FOR FUTURE
MISSIONS.
WE HAVE DOZENS OF PAPERS AND
OVER 100 RESEARCH TEAMS AROUND
THE WORLD THIS LED TO OTHER
EFFORTS INCLUDING A AEROSPACE
DATA BANK AND YOU CAN LOOK
ACROSS THESE MISSIONS OR LEARNED
TO OTHER DATABASE OF MOUSE OR
RODENT DATA THAT'S FLOWN IN
SPACE WE ALSO LINKED TO THOSE
PROFILES TO BLEND CONCLUSIONS
AND CREATE NEW HYPOTHESES, NEW
IDEAS WE'VE BEEN GETTING
INTERESTING PAPERS AND WE WANT
THIS TO BE A HYPOTHESIS
GENERATION MACHINE FOR PEOPLE TO
COME THROUGH WITH NEW IDEAS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILES AND
PLAY WITH THE DATA YOURSELF.
SO FEEL FREE TO GO TO THE
REPOSITORY AND SEE THE CONTROL
DATA.
IT'S OPEN AND CONTROL ACCESS.
SOME ARE OPEN FOR ANYONE TO D
DOWNLOAD AND YOU MAY NEED AN IRB
BUT WE CAN HELP SET THAT UP WITH
NASA'S GENE IT LAB AND THE
COLLABORATORS THERE AS WELL SO
REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
AND WE MODELLED THIS AFTER THE
U.K. BIO BANK AND THE TOOLS ARE
ENABLED BY THE LARGE SCALE
REPOSITORIES THAT LINK ITS AND
THAT'S WHAT WE WERE DOING HERE
AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS I'M
WOND -- ONE OF THE SUBJECTS AND
YOU CAN SEE MY DATA AND THIS IS
THE DASHBOARD YOU GET WHEN YOU
LOG IN AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS
WE WANT TO MAKE IT SO YOU CAN
LEARN, DO YOU HAVE RISK FOR
DISEASE OR OTHER TRAITS.
DO I LIKE CILANTRO?
I REALLY LOVE CILANTRO BUT IT
MAKES ME SMILE BECAUSE I KNOW
THIS IS A HARD TRAIT WE'RE STILL
LEARNING ABOUT.
I HOPE WHEN I LOG BACK IN WITHIN
A YEAR OR TWO WE'VE UPDATED THE
MODEL OF A POLY GENIC PHENOTYPE
SCORE AND THINK YOU WOULD LOVE
CILANTRO BECAUSE NEW STUDIES
CAME OUT WHICH IS INTERESTING TO
SEE.
NO DATABASE IS PERFECT BUT YOU
CAN'T BUILD BETTER MODELS IF YOU
DON'T HAVE THE DATA.
THIS IS WHAT'S EXCITING ABOUT
THESE EFFORTS AND WHAT I TRY TO
WORK ON THE ACCESS TO THE DATA
AROUND ABILITY IS PIVOTAL FOR
THE FIELD TO ADVANCE FOR MODELS
TO GENERALLY IMPROVE.
AND WE HAVE A RANGE OF PROJECTS
WITH SPACEX AND BLUE ORIGIN AND
NASA AND THE SPACE EXPLORATION
WORKING WITH NATIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND THE
COMMISSION JUST COMPLETED LAST
WEEK SO IT WAS A BUSY WEEK IN
THE PAST TWO TO THREE WEEKS THE
MISSION WAS ALL CIVILIAN MISSION
LIKE THE INSPIRATION FOUR THAT
JUST COMPLETED ONE AROUND A
POLAR ORBIT AND DID THE FIRST
CRISPR SCREEN AND AVATAR
SAMPLES.
AN EXCITING MISSION THAT JUST
FINISHED ON THE HEELS OF THE
MISSION THAT FINISHED IN
SEPTEMBER.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE FIRST
SPACE WALK AND WHAT DID THE LIKE
FOR GEMINI 11.
A HIGH ELEVATION ORBIT AND
STRIKING VIEW OF THE PLANET YOU
CAN SEE HERE.
AND SARAH GILLIS PERFORMED THE
FIRST MINI VIOLIN CONCERT IN
SPACE AND NOW WE'RE DOING
EXAMPLES AND DATA ANALYSIS AND
AND WE'RE LIKELY TO HAVE THE NEW
NASA ADMINISTRATORS SUPPORTING
MORE AMBITIOUS MISSIONS IN THE
COMING YEARS.
AND WE MET WE GOT BLOOD
COLLECTION TOOLS AND OTHER
DEVICES TO USE IN THE FIELD AND
SPACE AND MAKE IT EASIER TO GIVE
BLOOD SAMPLES BECAUSE YOU WANT
TO MAKE IT CONVENIENT FOR THE
CREW MEMBERS.
THERE WAS A NEW YORK CITY
MARATHON LAST FALL AND WE
COLLECTED SAMPLES FROM A SUBSET
OF RUNNERS, MY SELF-INCLUDED IN
THE MIDDLE OF THEIR RUN TO GET
COLLECTIONS THERE AND DID DRY
BLOOD SPOT SAMPLING.
THIS IS ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A
MARATHON AND I CLEARLY NEED A
HAIRCUT AND A POST-BAC IN THE
LAB DID A COLLECTION IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE RUN THIS IS US AND
THIS IS MARTIN CONFUSED ABOUT
TAKING THE LAB BACK TO THE LAB
BUT DID WELL.
AND WE VALIDATED SOME OF THE
HARDWARE FOR IN FLIGHT
SKWEENSING AND WE DID THIS BACK
IN 2016 AND NOW THE TECHNOLOGY
GOT BETTER AND HIGHER
THROUGHPUT.
YOU CAN TAKE A SEQUENCE THIS BIG
AND READY TO FLY WITH THE
UPCOMING MISSIONS AND WHAT WE'RE
BUILDING.
THIS BRINGS UP QUESTIONS.
AND WHY WOULD BE THE YOU AND
THIS IS WORK WE DO IN SPACE AND
ALSO THE BED ROM OF A COMPANY
THAT HAS A WAY TO GET SEQUENCING
OF FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE AN
INSPECTION YOU CULTURE IT BUT
THESE DAYS YOU CAN SEQUENCE AND
THERE'S NOT A NEW YORK APPROVAL
FOR THE SEQUENCE BASED METHOD
AND SO THAT IS ON THE MEASURING
BIOLOGY BUT AND INSTEAD OF BEING
PASSIVE OBSERVERS AND STRESSES
ON THE BODY AND WE WANT METHODS
TO DEFEND AGAINST THE RADIATION.
AND ONE THING IS WE'RE WORKING
ON OPTIONS TO TAKE SYSTEMS BUILT
OFF CRISPR.
IT CAN DO GENE MODIFICATIONS OF
COURSE BUT IF YOU ELITE --
ELIMINATE THE DOMAIN FOR THE
HISTONES OR DEMETHYLATION STATE
THERE'S NOW MANY WAYS TO HAVE
VARIATIONS OF THE MODIFIERS AND
TURN ON AND OFF GENES.
IT'S EXTRAORDINARY BECAUSE YOU
CAN REACH INTO A CELL AND TURN
ON THE GENE OR REACH INTO A CELL
AND TURN OFF THE GENE.
LIKE A LIGHT SWITCH AND WE CAN
NOW DO IT IN MY LAB WHICH IS
WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS A
KID.
AND IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH
YOUR ADULT HEMOGLOBIN IN YOUR
BODY WHAT IF IT DOESN'T CARRY
RIGHT AND YOU HAD A FETAL
HEMOGLOBIN GENE IN YOUR BODY AND
THE GENE STILL EXISTS THAT MAKES
FETAL HEMOGLOBIN AND FULLY
FUNCTIONAL TO CARRY OXYGEN IN
YOUR BODY.
THE QUESTION BECAME WHAT IF WE
CAN TURN IT BACK ON TO TREAT THE
DISEASE?
THAT'S WHAT WAS SHOWN FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN 2021 THE SYSTEM
TARGETED THE ENHANCER AND MODIFY
THIS TO TURN ON THE FETAL
HEMOGLOBIN AND IN BEFORE YOU YOU
SEE IT OKAY, WE'VE TURNED ON A
LONG SILENT GENE NOT JUST AS A
CURIOSITY BUT CURATIVE PROCESS
FOR IT SICKLE CELL DISEASE AND
THERE WAS AN FDA APPROVED
THERAPY TO GET TREATMENT FOR
SICKLE CELL DISEASE AND TREAT
BEING THE CELLS OF THE DISEASE
AND AS A FUN SIDE NOTE ONE
PATIENT TREATS WAS ABLE TO FIGHT
SICKLE CELL DISEASE AND CLIMB
AND IT WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE TO
THINK OF DOING A STRESSFUL TRIP
BUT OPENS THE DOOR FOR PEOPLE TO
OVERCOME EXISTING DISEASE GENE
OR SURVIVE IN PLACES THEY
COULDN'T.
ARE THERE PROTECTIVE ALLELE TO
DEPLOY TO PROTECT PEOPLE?
THINK OF PHYSICAL, PHARMACOLOGIC
PROTECTION AND COULD WE DO
GENOMIC PROTECTION AS WAYS TO
PROTECT PEOPLE?
WE PUBLISHED A LIST OF THE
INTERESTING TARGETS INVOLVED IN
RETENTION OR MUSCLE RETENTION
AND OTHER WAYS TO IMPROVE
ALTITUDE AND OXYGEN TOLERANCE
AND CANCER RISK AND THERE'S
EVIDENCE OF CHANGE IN SPACE FROM
AND OTHER LINKS RELATED TO
NUTRITION AND SOME ARE NOT AS
CLEAR.
WE HAVE INTRIGUE IING PHENOTYPE.
FOR EXAMPLE, ONE MISSION WE JUST
DISCUSSED LAST WAS WHAT IF WE
COULD MAKE OUR WAYS TO MARS AND
COME BACK AGAIN AND IT LINES UP
TO LEAVE EARTH AND PASS MARS AND
ZOOM AROUND TO VENUS AND GET
BACK TO EARTH ALL WITHIN 18 TO
19 MONTHS AND IT'S ACTUALLY
BASED ON THE PLANET FLY BUY.
SO I ALLUDED TO AN EXTRAORDINARY
TIME IN SPACE FLIGHT, SPACE BIO
MEDICINE, SPACE OPPORTUNITIES.
IT BEGS THE QUESTION CAN WE
SURVIVE?
WE NOW KNOW IN A YEAR WE COULD
SURVIVE BUT THIS IS THE FARTHEST
WE'LL HAVE EVER GONE AND
QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT THIS ONE
OR OTHER LONG DISTANCE TRIPS TO
SPACE, CAN WE SURVIVE AND WHAT
WOULD IT TAKE TO DO SO.
I'M OPTIMISTIC AND GUARDED
BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE
TRACK CREW MEMBERS WELL AND MAKE
SURE THEY'RE SAFE.
THAT'S A FORWARD LOOKING CONCEPT
AND ONE QUESTION I GET FROM BARS
AND RESTAURANTS AND WHY DOES
THIS WORK WHEN THERE IS OTHER
SOCIETAL PROBLEMS.
THERE'S PROBLEMS WITH POVERTY
AND JUSTICE AND PEOPLE
WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED AND MANY
PROBLEMS AND A LONG LITANY OF
PROBLEMS YOU CAN SPEND TIME,
ENERGY AND MONEY WORKING ON.
AND I GIVE TREE RESPONSES.
THE FIRST IS YOU CAN DO BOTH AT
THE SAME TIME.
YOU CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE
SAME TIME.
YOU CAN PASS RIVAL RIGHTS
LEGISLATION WHILE LANDING
SOMEONE ON THE MOON.
IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO BOTH AS A
SPECIES, AS A COUNTRY AND IT IS
POSSIBLE MAKE PROGRESS SOCIALLY,
STRUCTURALLY AND MAKING IT
SCIENTIFICALLY AND AMONG SPACE
EXPLORATION TARGETS.
AND SECOND POINT IS SOMETHING
THAT'S A BIT MORE INTANGIBLE AND
MY DAUGHTER WAS HANGING OUT IN
VENICE BEACH LAST SUMMER AND
HAVING A WONDERFUL CONVERSATION
ABOUT WHAT WOULD A SUNSET LOOK
LIKE ON MARS AND IF YOU WERE
GOING TO A SKATEBOARD PARK WHAT
WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE WITH
ONE-SIXTH GRAVITY AND IT WAS A
FUN CONVERSATION BUT IT WAS NOT
COMPLETELY ABSTRACT.
SHE BELIEVES WE'RE GOING TO BE
THERE SOON.
IT'S A SENSE OF HOPE THERE'S
GOING TO BE ADDITIONAL PROGRESS
IN THE FUTURE AND THE FUTURE IS
BRIGHTER THAN THE PAST.
IT'S A WONDERFUL ASSET SHE
CARRIES WITH HER NOT ALL YOUNG
PEOPLE DO.
I THINK MOST TEENAGERS ARE
PRETTY GRUMPY BECAUSE THEY'RE
UPSET ABOUT SAVING THE WORLD FOR
GOOD REASON OFTEN BUT THE SENSE
WE COULD HAVE THIS CONVERSATION
IN MARS IN 30 YEARS OR COULD
HAVE THE SKATEBOARD PARK ON THE
MOON AND IT'S VERY EXCITING AND
EVERY TIME WE'VE SEEN MASS
EXTINCTIONS THERE'S BEEN FIVE
MAJOR ONES EFFECTIVELY SO FAR
WE'VE HAD A WORLD WITH AND
WITHOUT POLAR ICE CAPS.
WE'VE HAD A WIDE RANGE OF
TEMPERATURE IN THE PLANET OVER
THE PAST SEVERAL MILLION YEARS
BUT EVERY TIME SOMETHING CHANGES
TOO FAST IS WHEN WE SEE MASS
EXTENSIONS.
THAT'S WHERE WE KNOW AS THE A
SUBSTANTIAL PROBLEM AND WE'RE
WORRIED IF IT GOES UP TOO FAST
WE'LL CREATE OUR OWN EXTENSION
ON THE PLANET AND IF YOU GO BACK
FURTHER IN TIME THERE'S A TIME
WHEN THE EARTH WAS A SNOWBALL
AND MOSTLY FROZEN.
IF WE TAKE THE 500 YEARS AND
ZOOM OUT TO THE PAST AND FUTURE
OF OUR PLANET WE'RE AT THIS NICE
TEMPERATURE CANYON.
THE EARTH USED TO BE HOT BUT
WE'LL GET HOT AND THE OCEANS
WILL GET HOT AND THE EARTH WILL
GET ENGULFED BY THE SUN WOULD
GET HOT.
I AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT WE HAVE
TIME BEFORE THAT HAPPENS BUT I'M
WORKING ON A BOOK AND THE OCEAN
MAY START TO BOIL AND WE MAY NOT
MAKE IT PAST THEN.
I GOT SAD AND WAS MOPING AROUND
THE KITCHEN AND MY WIFE ASKED
WHAT WAS WRONG AND I SAID I
THOUGHT WE HAD MORE TIME.
SHE LAUGHED AT ME BECAUSE IT IS
A LOT OF TIME BUT NOT THAT MUCH
IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT YOU CAN
SEE IN FRONT OF US.
IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO
LIVE TO BE 100 YEARS OLD AND IF
SOMEONE SAID YOU'D BE DEAD AT 20
YOU'D BE DEVASTATED AND AND IF
YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS AT
RISK AND THERE'S A PRODUCERS AND
CONSUMERS THERE'S THREE KINDS OF
LIFE GENERALLY ON THE PLANET.
BUT THIS IS A FOURTH KIND OF
LIFE.
THE KIND OF LIFE THAT CAN GUARD
AGAINST THE FOOD CHAIN OR
SPECIES LOSS.
ONLY ONE LIFE FORM CAN SERVE AS
THE GUARDIANS AND I WOULD ERRING
WE'RE LITERALLY THE GUARDIANS OF
THE GALAXY OR GUARDIANS OF THE
MITOCHONDRIA IS WORK WE'RE DOING
IN THE SMALL GALAXIES OUTSIDE OF
US.
ONLY HUMANS ARE EXTINCTION AWARE
AND IT'S ANOTHER FACET OF THE
EXPLANATION INTO SPACE IS THIS
IS AN INEVITABLE ARGUMENT AND
UNIQUE CARRY BECAUSE WE'RE THE
ONLY WITH THE UNIQUE AWARENESS.
WE CAN ALSO BRING BACK SPECIES.
WE BROUGHT BACK A WOLF LAST
WEEK.
THERE'S INTERESTING DYNAMICS AT
PLAY FOR GENETICS BECOMING TIME
DEPENDENT AND MOST THE BOOK
PUBLISHED A COUPLE YEARS AGO NOW
TRANSLATING INTO THE LANGUAGE
YOU SEE HERE AND WITH THAT I
WANT TO THANK THE LABORATORY FOR
WHICH I COULD NOT DO THE WORK.
I WAS BLESSED.
I HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY CREW AND
TEAM AND THANKS FOR FUNDING FROM
THE NIH AND COORDINATION WITH
NASA AND SPACEX AND IT'S BEEN
WONDERFUL AND OF COURSE
DR. BEHESHTI AND FINALLY I WANT
TO THANK THE PATIENTS AND THE
DATA, RESOURCES AND SAMPLES WE
GET TO LEARN.
WITH THAT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY
QUESTIONS.
>> THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL
PRESENTATION AND AFSHIN AS WELL.
I'M INTRIGUED BY THE QUESTION,
WHAT DOES THE VIOLIN SOUND LIKE
IN OUTER SPACE?
IS IT BETTER?
IT IS CAUCAPHONOUS.
>> IT WAS WEIRDLY VERY SIMILAR
AND THEY DID A SYNCHRONOUS
CONCERT WITH OTHER SITES AROUND
THE WORLD WHICH WAS QUITE
BEAUTIFUL.
A MOMENT OF GUARANTEED HAPPINESS
LOOK AT SARAH GILLIS' VIOLIN
PLAYING.
>> SO, ONE OF THE FIRST ONES
WHICH CAME IN DURING AFSHIN'S
TALK WAS HAVE YOU SETTLED ON THE
QUESTION AS TO WHETHER
MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IS A
FREQUENT PREEXISTING CONDITION
FOR PEOPLE TRAINING TO GO INTO
HAD EXPEDITION CLASS MISSIONS IN
SPACE.
IN OTHER WORDS, HAVE YOU SOMEHOW
SELECTED FOR PEOPLE SENSITIVE TO
THIS AND MIGHT LIKE TO GO TO
OUTER SPACE.
THAT'S ONE OF THEIR UNDERLYING
CONDITIONS.
>> THEY DON'T WANT GENETIC
PREDISPOSITION TO PRE VEEPT
PEOPLE FROM GOING TO SPACE.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY SCREEN OUR
MITOCHONDRIA SO WE KNOW WHAT WE
GET INTO IF WE GO TO SPACE.
I WOULD COUNTER THAT BY SAYING I
THINK SO FAR THE PEOPLE THE DATA
WE HAVE FROM ASTRONAUTS ARE SO
FAR OTHER THAN THE COMMERCIAL
MISSION THEY'RE LIKE THE TOP
00.1% FIT PEOPLE SO THEIR MIGHT
CON GRA IS PROBABLY IN THE
CATEGORY.
THE MICE THEMSELVES ARE NOT
MITOCHONDRIAL C57 BACKGROUND
MICE AND HAVE MITOCHONDRIAL
ACTIVITY BUT OVER ALL THEY'RE
THE SAME MICE.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE DIFFERENT
MITOCHONDRIA AND WE PROBABLY SAY
THE DATA SHOWED THE MICE
WOULDN'T BE PREDISPOSITIONED TO
MITOCHONDRIAL DISPOSITION.
I WOULD PROPOSE WE SHOULD LOOK
AT THE MITOCHONDRIAL FITNESS OF
PEOPLE SO THEY KNOW WHAT TO GET
INTO AND MAYBE GET THEM ON A
BETTER COCKTAIL BEFORE THEY GO
TO SPACE TO HELP THEM SURVIVAL
BETTER.
>> AND FOLLOWING THE LINE OF
THOUGHT A LITTLE BIT THERE ARE
KNOWN HUMAN MITOCHONDRIAL
DISEASES AS YOU MENTIONED IN
YOUR TALK.
I WONDER WHETHER WE COULD GAIN
ANY INSIGHT FROM THOSE PATIENTS
THAT WOULD BE RELEVANT TO IN ANY
WAY PREVENTING OR TREATING OR
UNDERSTANDING THE CONDITIONS
ASTRONAUT FACE WHEN THEY GO TO
OUTER SPACE?
>> IN THE CLINIC WE LEARN
SIMILARITIES AND A LOT OF THE
TREATMENTS THEY MIGHT ALREADY
USE ARE THE SUPPLEMENTS LIKE
KAEMPFEROL AND THINGS WE DO IN
SPACE COULD HELP THEM OR THE
DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH THE
VISION LOSS.
WE SHOULD SEE HOW THAT HELPS AND
IF WE LOOK AT THAT AS A CLINICAL
MARKER OF WHAT PREVENTIVE
MEASURES ARE BEING DONE I THINK
WE CAN APPLY THAT AND SEE WHAT
HAPPENS.
>> CAN ONE GET THE MITOCHONDRIAL
COCKTAIL COMMERCIALLY?
IS THERE PLACE TO GET IT ON
AMAZON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
>> THE KAEMPFEROL THE JAPANESE
COMPANY IS ALL ABOUT US
PUBLISHING THE DATA BUT THEY'RE
LUNCHING THE PRODUCT.
I DON'T WORK FOR THEM.
I'M NOT MAKING ANYTHING OFF THEM
BUT THEY'RE LAUNCHING IN
OCTOBER.
THE CEO TAKES IT HIMSELF AND
LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE OKAY.
THAT COULD BE ONE VERSION PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO PURCHASE.
I THINK IT WILL BE A COCKTAIL OF
THING AND THE REST CHRIS AND I
AND OTHERS HAVE TO FIGURE OUT
THE OTHER COCKTAILS.
BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO USE
THINGS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE OR
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.
GIVE US A YEAR.
WE'LL HAVE A COCKTAIL
INFORMATION FOR YOU.
>> ANOTHER ANGLE IS I THINK YOU
BOTH MENTIONED ISSUES WITH
REGARD TO THE BRAIN AND THE
BREAK DOWN OF THE BLOOD BRAIN
BARRIER.
WOULDN'T THERE BE A SPECIAL
HELMET THAT WOULD HELP IN SOME
WAY?
>> THAT I DON'T KNOW.
UNFORTUNATELY THE RADIATION
IMPACT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP
PHYSICALLY BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY
IONS.
BUT YOU HAVE TO PUT A THICK
LAYER BETWEEN THE PERSON AND
IT'S HARD TO MUSH.
AND AN ENGINEER FIGURES OUT AN
ANTIGRAVITY MACHINE BUT SOME ARE
LOOKING AT LIGHT LIKE THE RED
LIGHT AND BLUE LIGHT THINK THAT
CAN ENHANCE MITOCHONDRIAL
FUNCTION AND THAT COULD POSSIBLY
BE SOMETHING YOU EXPOSE YOURSELF
TO THE RED LIGHT ACTIVITY.
IN CLINIC THEY'RE SHOWING SOME
IMPROVEMENT IN MITOCHONDRIAL
FUNCTION.
THAT COULD BE SOMETHING.
I DON'T KNOW.
I'M SURE THE AUDIENCE
RESEARCHING THIS STUFF I'D LOVE
TO HEAR FROM.
>> CHRIS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING
TO ADD ON THIS IN TERMS OF
SHIELDING RADIATION?
>> I MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT IN
THE TALK THERE'S A LOT OF SMALL
MOLECULES BEING TALKED ABOUT AND
THE METHODS I WAS REFERRING TO
AND I LIKE PROTEINS AND I TALKED
ABOUT TAKING GENES FROM OTHER
CREATURES THAT SHOW PROTECTION
FROM RADIATION AND LEVERAGE
THEM.
IT'S AN EXCITING TIME TO MAP THE
MOLECULES AND CHARACTERIZE WHICH
LEARNED TO RESIST RADIATION AND
IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY TIME.
>> WOULD THERE BE ANY WAY --
WOULD IT BE PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE
TO CREATE A LAUNCH TO CREATE
IT'S OWN MAGNETIC FIELD TO BLOCK
THE RADIATION.
IT'S THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF THE
EARTH THAT BLOCKS THE RADIATION.
>> CORRECT.
IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED BUT THE
POWER REQUIREMENTS WOULD BE
DIFFICULT TO CREATE IT.
NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
IF WE HAD FUSION WORKING WELL WE
COULD DO A LOT OF THINGS ON THE
SPACECRAFT.
THERE ARE NASA GRANTS WHERE WE
WORK ON FUSION DRIVES AND WAYS
TO GET INFUSION REACTORS INTO
SPACE.
ONCE THOSE START TO PAN OUT IT'S
POSSIBLE.
VERY POSSIBLE.
WE'LL NEED A FEW YEARS OR
DECADES OF ENGINEERING.
>> A PERSONALIZED MAGNETIC
FIELD.
>> SOMEONE IN THE AUDIENCE IS
WONDERING IF SPACE EXPERIMENTS
CAN TEST KIDNEY DISEASE THAT
DRIVE THE DISEASE BUT IN AN
ACCELERATED ANIMAL MODEL.
THIS SPEAKS TO WHAT CHRIS WAS
TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF ALL
THE DIFFERENT MEDICAL TEST IING
THAT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO DO.
>> WE'RE LOOKING AT KIDNEY
FUNCTION AND STRESS AND DISEASE
AND THE MOST IN DEPTH ANALYSIS
IN SPACE LAST YEAR AND RISK FOR
KIDNEY STONES.
IT'S A WELL KNOWN GENERAL RISK
AND THE CALCIUM BUILD UP AND
LOSS DURING SPACE FLIGHT.
IT'S A WELL DOCUMENTED RISK.
THE COUNTER MEASURES ARE STILL
BE TEASED OUT AND THE BETTER
UNDERSTANDING IS STILL BE TEASE
THE OUT BUT THERE'S THE LEADER
IN SPACE.
>> HE'S SHOWN THE TUBES OF THE
KIDNEY COLLAPSING AND THAT'S A
CONCERN TOO.
THE COLLAPSE OF RENAL TUBES.
HE'S ONE TO INVITE FOR THE
KIDNEY ISSUES BECAUSE HE ALWAYS
GIVES CREATE TALKS ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENS TO KIDNEYS IN SPACE.
>> SO ANOTHER QUESTION FROM THE
AUDIENCE WHICH WE SORT OF
TOUCHED UPON IN YOUR TALKS, WHAT
IS THE IMPACT OF SPACE RESIDENCY
IN ON IMMUNE RESPONSIVENESS?
THEY -- THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS
PERT
PERTURBED.
IT'S NOT DYSFUNCTIONAL BUT
PERTURBED.
WE SEE T CELL RECEPTOR AND
DYSFUNCTION FOR MAKING
ANTIBODIES ARE RELATIVELY
MAINTAINED.
WE DID A VACCINATION AND IT'S
NOT THE IMMUNE CAN'T OR DOESN'T
FUNCTION.
THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
IT'S MORE STRESSED AND PERTURBED
SO WE SEE MORE THAN HALF LIKE
THE HERPES REACTIVATION AND
SIGNATURES OF VIRAL RESPONSE IN
THE GENE EXPRESSION DATA.
WE SEE MACROPHAGE FUNCTION SEEMS
TO BE CHANGING.
THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES BUT
CAN'T WAIT SAY IT'S NOT WORKING
BECAUSE IT'S STILL FUNCTIONAL
BUT SEEMS TO BE PERTURBED AND I
THINK SOMETIMES ON HIGH ALERT
WHEN IT SHOULD BE RESTING OR
SOMETIMES ON LOW ALERT WHEN IT
SHOULD BE ON MORE ALERT BUT IT'S
NOT THAT IT'S NOT WORKING IT
JUST NEED TO BE TWEAKED FOR
FUTURE MAINTENANCE.
>> I ALSO THINK IF IT'S
MITOCHONDRIA -- MITOCHONDRIAL
DYSFUNCTION CAUSES IMMUNE
DYSFUNCTION.
WE HAVE SHOWN IN THE MOUSE
STUDIES THE INNATE IMMUNE AND
ADAPTIVE AND SOME THINGS BECOME
HYPERACTIVE BECAUSE PERTURBED IS
A GOOD TERM TRYING TO OVERREACT
AND SOME ARE BEING SUPPRESSED
AND SUPPRESSES IMMUNE FUNCTION.
THERE'S A STUDY WE DID FOUR OR
FIVE YEARS AGO ON A MOUSE MODEL
LOOKING AT RADIATION AND THE
MICE INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH WHEN
YOU LOOK AT THE SPLEEN OF THE
MICE WE SAW THE CYTOTOXIC AND T
CELLS COMPLETELY SUPPRESSED.
SO THINGS LIKE THAT WE SEE AGAIN
THIS IS A LARGE ACUTE DOSE AND
OVER TIME YOU ALWAYS SEE THE LOW
DOSE BUT OVER TIME THE LOW
SUPPRESSION MIGHT HAPPEN IS WHAT
THE DATA INDICATES THAT WOULD
LEAD TO THAT.
THEN WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS
TO STOP THE SUPPRESSION IN THE
HELPER CELLS TO MAKE THE IMMUNE
SYSTEM HAPPY TO KEEP GOING.
>> OKAY.
NOW HERE'S SOMEONE THAT'S A REAL
SPACE ENTHROUROUGHS -- ENTHUSIA
SAYS THIS APPLIES TO ASTRONAUTS
WHEN ORDINARY HUMANS VENTURE TO
SPACE BASIC PROTECTIONS WOULD
LIKELY BE THE NORM.
IS THERE RESEARCH ON UNAVOIDABLE
RISKS ORDINARY PEOPLE WOULD FACE
ON THE MOON OR ON MARS?
>> WE PUT OUT AN ETHICS PAPER IN
THE NATURE PACKAGE TO TALK ABOUT
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE WHEN
NORMAL PEOPLE GO UP AND THERE'S
THE WHOLE COMMERCIAL MISSION
WHERE THAT'S THE WHOLE CONCERN.
THERE'S LAWYERS LOOKING AT AND
DRAWING UP NEW PLANS TO MAKE IT
SAFE FOR THE NORMAL PEOPLE LIKE
MYSELF OR CHRIS TO GO UP THERE.
HAVE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE
GUIDELINES?
>> YEAH, THAT'S ONE OF THE
EXCITING THINGS.
ANYONE CAN GO INTO SPACE YOU
JUST NEED THE CAPITAL WE HAVE
THE YOUNGEST AMERICAN ON
INSPIRATION 4 IS A CANCER
SURVIVAL AND HAS A PROSTHETIC
LIMB AND VERY YOUNG AND WE'RE
GETTING OLD AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND
CANCER SURVIVORS AND PEOPLE WHO
HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE SLINGS AND
ARROWS OF LIFE AND STILL WANT TO
GO TO SPACE AND ENJOY IT.
IT'S EXCITING SPACE IS BEING
OPENED UP TO EVERYONE BUT IF
YOU'RE DIABETIC OR PRE-DIABETIC
IS THAT TOO MUCH OF A RISK AND
HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE RISK?
IT'S A QUESTION OF WHEN NOT IF
WE GET NUANCED COMPLEX FACTORS.
WE HAVE TO DO BETTER CONTINUED
MONITORING AND THE EPIGENETICS
ARE BECOMING VERY POSSIBLE IN
SPACE.
IT'S GREAT.
>> AND POTENTIAL COUNTER MEASURE
LIKE THE BOOSTERS MAY BE
SOMETHING AS YOU MENTIONED
EARLIER IF YOU'RE ABLE TO SCREEN
YOURSELF FOR MITOCHONDRIAL
MUTATIONS YOU CAN PREPARE
YOURSELF EASIER TO GO TO SPACE.
ANYTHING ELSE.
>> OKAY.
WELL, ANOTHER OF OUR VIEWERS IS
INTERESTED IN THE QUESTION OF
WHETHER IF ONE HAD A PROLONGED
SPACE FLIGHT WOULD THERE BE A
POINT IN HAVING THE ASTRONAUTS
HIBERNATE ON THE SPACE VEHICLE
WHILE IN TRANSIT?
>> WE HAVE A LAB WORKING ON THE
IDEA.
>> REALLY?
>> THEY'RE MAIN BREAD AND BUTTER
IS LOOKING AT EXERCISE AND HOW
IF YOU GO INTO DIFFERENT SLEEP
CYCLES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH,
THINGS LIKE THAT.
SHE GOT A POSTDOCTORAL AWARD
FROM TRANSLATION RESEARCH TO
LOOK AT HIBERNATION MODELS.
BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS ONE
OTHER STUDY CHRIS AND I HAVE
COLLABORATED WITH PORTLAND STATE
IS A FISH AND THEY'RE FOUND IN
THE AMAZON RIVER BEDS WHERE IT
DRIES UP FOR THREE MONTHS AND
HAVE TO DEVELOP EXTREME
PROPERTIES AND IN THE EMBRYONIC
STAGE IT CAN WITHSTAND RADIATION
AND THOUGH THE DAMAGE IS STILL
GETTING DONE TO THE DNA FROM THE
RADIATION, IT DOESN'T PRODUCE
REACTIVE SPECIES AND THE
PROTEINS COME IN AND REPAIR IT
AND IT'S FINE.
WHEN IT HATCHES IT BECOMES A
FISH.
THAT'S AN EXTREME HIBERNATION
MODEL AND OTHERS ARE LOOKING AT
FLYING SQUIRRELS AND ONE COMPANY
WE'RE TALKING TO AND HIBERNATION
MIGHT BE ONE WAY.
>> AND THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT
IT.
IT'S VERY INTERESTING.
THERE'S AN YAANESTHESIOLOGIST A
CORNELL AND THEY'LL ROTATE YOUR
BODY IF YOU'RE UNDER ANESTHESIA
FOR A LONG TIME BUT HOW DO YOU
MAINTAIN THE BODY WHEN YOU
HIBERNATE AND BEARS HAVE MANAGED
TO DO BUT THEY MOVE WELL THEY
DON'T LAY DOWN COMPLETELY.
IT'S FUN TO LEARN FROM THE BEAR
BUT HARD TO GET A SAMPLE.
>> ALL RIGHT.
HERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION FROM OUR
AUDIENCE, CAN YOU ELABORATE
ABOUT THE TELOMERE LENGTH
ACTIVATION OF TELEMERASE.
>> WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE
ELEVATED.
THE GENES ONE IS CALLED TERRA
AND ONE IS A TELOMERE RESPONSIVE
GENES ARE ACTIVATED IN FLIGHT
AND THE QUESTION IS IT
MICROGRAVITY OR RADIATION?
IN VITRO STUDIES ON EARTH IF YOU
RADIATE CELLS YOU GET LONG
TELOMERES AND IT'S IN RESPONSE
TO THE DAMAGE AND NOT THAT MUCH
RADIATION BUT ENOUGH TO TO
STIMULATE THE RESPONSE FOR THE
CELLS.
>> ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THANK YOU.
SO NOW WE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT
DID YOU LOOK FOR THE COMMON
MITOCHONDRIAL DELETION?
>> WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT ANY.
THERE'S A LOT OF UNDER STUDIED
THINGS IN SPACE AND ONE IS
MITOCHONDRIAL HAS A LOT OF
THINGS TO UNCOVER.
THAT'S ONE.
THERE'S OMICS DATA BUT
COLLABORATORS AND PEOPLE THAT
HAVE ACCESS TO MOUSE TISSUE SO
WE CAN COLLABORATE AND LOOK AT
THE DELETIONS COMMON OR
NON-COMMON.
I WENT SAY EITHER WAY.
I DON'T KNOW.
>> WE DO HETERO PLASMA CHANGE
AND DIFFERENCES IN CHANGES BUT
HAVEN'T LOOKED DEEPLY AT THE
MUTATION.
IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA AND
SEQUENCE DATA SO WE CAN DO A
WHOLE STUDY ON THAT IN A WEEK OR
TWO PROBABLY.
>> ALL RIGHT.
NOW WE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT
MYOKINES DO YOU THINK THEY ARE
CONSIDERED AS A PROGNOSTIC
BIOMARKER FOR AGING IN SPACE?
>> SHORT ANSWER, YES, MAYBE.
I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT.
I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
>> IT'S A VERY INTRIGUING
QUESTION BUT I DON'T -- I CAN
TRY AND LOOK AT YOU WHILE WE'RE
ON THE CALL.
I'LL LOOK AND SEE IF THE
DATABASE IF WE SEE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE.
I WILL TAKE A LOOK.
>> ALL RIGHT.
>> FOR OTHER PEOPLE GO ON THE
PLATFORM AND DO THE SAME THING.
>> ALL RIGHT.
HERE'S A QUESTION WITH REGARD TO
IDEAL AGE OF AN ASTRONAUT TO
BEGIN AN EXPEDITION TO MARS.
IS IT BETTER TO HAVE SOMEONE IN
THEIR 20s OR A LITTLE BIT OLDER?
SOME ASTRONAUTS IN OUR SPACE
FORCE ARE MIDDLE AGE
INDIVIDUALS.
IS IT KNOWN WHAT WOULD BE THE
IDEAL AGE TO TAKE A PROLONGED
SPACE FLIGHT?
>> THAT I DON'T KNOW.
I HEARD DATA CANCER RISKS IN A
MOUSE MODEL IN YOU'RE OLDER WITH
SPACE IT MAY BE BETTER BUT A
HEALTH RISK.
I HAVEN'T DONE A HEALTH AGE
RISK.
CHRIS, YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE IT.
>> NO, GOOD QUESTION.
SO WE'VE DONE -- I THINK THERE
IS I WOULD SAY THE BEST IS GET
UP EARLY AND STAY UP THERE BUT
WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
RIGHT NOW IT'S PROBABLY MID TO
LATE 20s, 30s, 40s.
MIDDLE OF LIFE IS WHEN YOU'RE
THE MOST RESPONSIVE AND PLASTIC
AND MOST RESILIENT BUT PEOPLE IN
THEIR 50s AND 60s ARE GOING TO
SPACE JUST FINE.
WE DON'T KNOW IS THE SHORT
ANSWER BUT IT WOULD TRACK WITH
MOST OTHER METRICS FOR HEALTH
WHICH GENERALLY PEAK MIDDLE OF
LIFE.
IT'S A VERY PERSON DEPENDENT.
SOME PEOPLE 55 LOOK EASY AND
PEACE -- PEASE AND OTHERS ARE
SPIKING THEIR INFLAMMATORY
CELLS.
>> MAYBE DO THE SCREENING FOR
GENETICS AND OTHER FACTORS TO
FIGURE THAT OUT.
>> SO, CHRIS, TALKED A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT VARIOUS MEDICAL
EQUIPMENT AND SEQUENCING
APPARATUS AND SO FARTHER THAT
COULD BE TAKEN TO SPACE AND USED
THIS.
HAS ANYONE CONSIDERED WHAT IT
WOULD BE LIKE TO DO SURGERY IN
OUTER SPACE?
>> A POST -DOC IN THE LAB IS
THINKING ABOUT THIS ALL THE
STAGE AND THE FIRST SURGEON IN
SPACE IS HER CAREER GOAL.
TAKE A WHILE BECAUSE WE DON'T
KNOW THE BEST OR ANY WAY TO DO
IT BUT AT SOME POINT, YES.
THERE WILL BE INJURIES IN SPACE
AND DEATH AND IT'S NOT A
QUESTION OF IF BUT WHEN.
WHEREVER HUME CANS HAVE GO IF
YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH SOMETHING
WILL HAPPEN.
WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT
BUT NOT YET AND WE'RE JUST
GETTING STARTED ON THAT QUESTION
I'D SAY.
>> WELL I SUPPOSE WITH
WEIGHTLESSNESS EVEN QUESTIONS OF
BLEEDING AND SO FORTH YOU'D HAVE
A DIFFERENT SITUATION IF IT
THERE WERE BLEEDING FROM A
WOUND.
AN INTERESTING THING TO THINK
ABOUT.
AND WE'LL PROBABLY HEAR MORE
ABOUT IT FROM YOU ALL.
SO THEN ANOTHER MEDICAL ISSUE
TOUCHED UPON IS THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATED WITH
SPACE FLIGHT.
WOULD YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING
MORE ABOUT THAT?
>> I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT IT TOO
MUCH OTHER THAN TALKING TO
VARIOUS FOLKS.
BASICALLY PSYCHOLOGISTS SAID IF
YOU'RE STUCK IN A TUBE THERE'S A
50% CHANCE OF HAVING PSYCHOSES.
AND THEY'RE TRAINED FOR THAT.
BUT FOR NORMAL PEOPLE WE NEED TO
PREPARE THEM FOR THAT.
I HAVEN'T DONE FURTHER STUDIES
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE
LOOKED INTO PSYCHOSES.
>> PEOPLE THINK THEY'RE
FRIENDLIER THAN THEY ARE WHEN
THEY'RE GETTING GRUMPY AND THEY
GET SLEEPY AND THEY THINK
THEY'RE FINE BUT ARE NOT AND
THERE'S REAL CHALLENGES BEING
TEASED OUT BUT ONE THING IS
LOSING SLEEP.
IT'S NOT SURPRISING FOR ANYONE
WHO'S BEEN ALIVE ON THIS MILLION
ET BUT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO
RELEARN ALMOST ALL THE TIME.
>> THAT'S AN IMPORTANT WORD TO
THE WISE.
THAT'S FOR SURE.
I THINK AT LEAST ONE OF YOU
MENTIONED THE IDEA OF TAKING A
BOTTLE OF WINE ON THE SPACE
FLIGHT.
ARE THERE ANY UNUSUAL AFFECTS OF
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN SPACE
FLIGHT?
>> I DON'T KNOW THAT BUT WE'RE
PROPOSING SOMETHING FOR NEXT
YEAR IF IT GET SELECTED TO
CULTURE YEAST.
WE'LL SEE IF WE GET THE
PROPOSAL.
OTHER THAN THAT -- I KNOW THEY
HAVE ALCOHOL ONCE IN A WHILE BUT
YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH HOW IT
CHANGES THE BIOLOGY OR THEIR
EFFECTS, YEAH.
>> OFFICIALLY THERE'S NOT
SUPPOSED TO BE ALCOHOL BECAUSE
THERE'S A RISK IN SPACE BUT WE
HEARD EVERY CREW SNEAKS SOME UP
THERE.
>> SOMEONE WAS ASKING ABOUT
PESTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION AND WHETHER ANYTHING
LIKE HOUSE FLIES OR OTHER PESTS
MAY HAVE GOTTEN ON TO THE SPACE
STATION AND IF SO HOW THAT WORKS
OUT.
>> I DON'T KNOW OF THAT.
I HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANYTHING.
>> THERE MAY BE SOMETHING.
IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.
>> WELL, ANYWAY --
>> WE CAN DO EXPERIMENTS WITH
THE DROSOPHILA.
THEY SEE HOW FLIES -- THE
PATTERN OF FLYING CHANGES IN
SPACE BUT THEY ADAPT OVER TIME.
AT LEAST THAT HAPPENS BUT THAT'S
A CONTROLLED SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
UP THERE.
>> WELL, I SUPPOSE ANY FLYING
INSECT IT WOULD HAVE A BIGGER
RANGE OR FASTER FLIGHT OR
WHATEVER IF THEY WERE IN A
GRAVITY SITUATION.
>> THERE'S MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH
ABOUT THE FRUIT FLY EXPERIMENT.
IT'S VERY ERRATIC UNTIL THEY
ADAPT.
YOU WATCH AND IT'S INTERESTING.
I RECOMMEND GOOGLING AND LIKE
THE MICE EVENTUALLY LEARN TO
WHIZ AROUND THE CAGE BUT TAKES A
DAY OR TWO TO ADAPT JUST LIKE
HUMANS.
>> YEAH, WELL, I MUST SAY THIS
IS A FASCINATING DISCUSSION AND
MAKES I THINK MANY OF US WANT TO
IMMEDIATELY SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT
AVAILABLE SPACE FLIGHT.
MY COLLEAGUE WIN MAY HAVE A
QUESTION OR TWO BEFORE WE GET TO
THE END.
WIN, DO YOU HAVE ANY -- HAVE YOU
BEEN WONDERING ABOUT A TRIP TO
OUTER SPACE?
YOU'RE MUTED.
WIN, YOU'RE MUTED.
WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
>> OKAY.
THANK YOU BOTH OF YOU.
THIS REALLY HAS BEEN VERY
EXCITING AND HAVE DONE A SUPERB
JOB OF KEEP EVERYTHING MOVING
ALONG IN AN EXCITING FASHION.
TWO QUICK QUESTIONS AT LEAST ONE
TO THINK ABOUT.
AS I LOOK AT THE DIAGRAM THAT
YOU SHOWED OF THE SUMMARY OF ALL
THE EFFECT, IT LOOKS TO ME
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU
INHIBIT THE MPK AXIS.
SO YOU REALLY ARE DRIVING
GLYCOLYSIS AND SHUTTING DOWN
EVERYTHING ELSE.
IT LOOKS LIKE WHAT SPACE IS
DOING IS THE SAME THING WE, FOR
EXAMPLE, SEE IN THE OKB1
KNOCKOUT MICE AND SO ON.
IS THIS REALLY LARGELY AN AFFECT
MEDIATED THROUGH AMPK?
AND I'M CURIOUS, DO WE KNOW WHAT
HAPPENS TO OVULATION IN MAMMALS
IN SPACE?
LET ALONE FERTILIZATION?
>> THE FIRST QUESTION WE HAVEN'T
SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT THE AMPK
PATHWAY AND SEE THE DYSFUNCTION.
IT'S PROBABLY HEAVILY INVOLVED
WITH THE CYCLE SOMEWHERE AND
JUST HAVE TO PUT THE CONNECTION
IN OUR NEXT PAPER.
OVULATION, UNFORTUNATELY NO ONE
HAS LOOKED AT IT TOO MUCH BUT
USUALLY FEMALE ASTRONAUTS TAKE
THE PILL THAT STOPS THEIR
PERIODS BECAUSE IT'S EASIER FOR
THEM NOT TO HAVE THAT.
THAT'S NEVER STUDIED IN FEMALE
ASTRONAUTS BECAUSE OF THE ISSUE.
BUT IN THE MICE STUDIES WE KNOW
FROM SOME STUDIES ESTROGEN AND
INSULIN RECEPTORS ARE
SUPPRESSED.
THAT HAPPENS IN THE MICE AND SEE
THE CIRCULATING FACTORS
CORRELATE FROM THE FEMALES.
WHETHER THAT SAYS ANYTHING TO
OVULATION OR NOT THERE'S NO
DIRECT CORRELATION TO THAT.
I DON'T KNOW, CHRIS.
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THAT?
>> IN NUMBERS.
WE DON'T KNOW.
>> ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN SO
FEMALE IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO
STUDY.
>> WE'RE AT OUR TIME LIMIT.
SO AGAIN WE WANT TO THANK YOU
BOTH VERY MUCH FOR A TERRIFIC
WONDERFUL STIMULATING FUN,
INSPIRING, ALL THOSE THINGS AND
MORE SESSION AND I THINK THAT
YOU WILL HAVE LOTS OF PEOPLE
WANTING TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT
SPACE MISSION OR MISSIONS.
SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU AGAIN AND
WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER
SESSION MAYBE NEXT YEAR OR THE
YEAR AFTER.
>> THANK YOU.
>> WE'LL HAVE A COCKTAIL FOR
YOU.
>> INDEED.
ALL RIGHT.
BYE-BYE.
THANK YOU.