{"id":2058,"date":"2025-12-10T08:08:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T05:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:51:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:51:34","slug":"recent-research-in-the-field-of-water-calcium-metabolism-in-spaceflight-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/2025\/12\/10\/recent-research-in-the-field-of-water-calcium-metabolism-in-spaceflight-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent research in the field of water-calcium metabolism in spaceflight conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exposure to altered gravity during spaceflight can cause physiological changes. One such change is the inability to completely empty the bladder or urinary retention. Exposure to microgravity causes bone atrophy\/loss, which increases blood calcium levels and increases the risk of kidney stones. The results of this new study may shed light on age-related bone loss, which affects millions of people on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Exposure to altered gravity during spaceflight can cause physiological changes. One such change is the inability to completely empty the bladder, or urinary retention. Causes of urinary retention early in space include changes in baseline physiological parameters observed during exposure to microgravity, anticholinergic side effects of anti-motion sickness medications, and other factors. Urinary retention can negatively impact health in orbit, causing discomfort and increasing the risk of urinary tract infection. Treatments, including urethral catheterization, have been performed in orbit.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nAstronaut Mark Vande Hei replaces components of the new, improved toilet installed on the International Space Station. NASA<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Exposure to microgravity also causes bone atrophy\/loss, which increases blood calcium levels and increases the risk of kidney stones. Risk reduction strategies, including exercise and hydration, are well established, although treatment options for kidney stones during research expeditions are currently lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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\nExpedition 13 flight engineer Thomas Reiter processes samples for kidney stone research aboard the ISS. NASA<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

During long-term missions, astronauts may experience a gradual loss of bone density\u2014typically 1\u20132% per month\u2014even with regular physical activity. While scientists understand how bones function on Earth, they are unsure why bones weaken so rapidly in microgravity.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

NASA research on the space station has shown that microgravity affects the behavior of stem cells and the substances they secrete. Scientists now want to study these cellular changes further to better understand the causes of bone loss in space and explore potential ways to prevent it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Microgravity Bone Loss (MABL-B) study focuses on specialized stem cells called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). As these cells mature, they form new bone tissue in the body.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Scientists suspect that the IL-6 protein may be the cause of bone problems in space. Data from the previous MABL-A mission suggests that microgravity stimulates a type of IL-6 signal that increases bone degradation. The MABL-B experiment is studying this by testing ways to block this IL-6 signaling pathway.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the experiment, mesenchymal stem cells are grown alongside other bone cells in special containers designed for space research. The cells are cultured for 19 days aboard the space station, with crew members periodically collecting samples for analysis on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The research could lead to the development of targeted treatments that will protect astronauts from bone loss during long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As crews travel farther from Earth, bone health becomes increasingly important, as medical evacuation or emergency return to Earth are impossible during Mars missions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study’s findings may shed light on age-related bone loss, which affects millions of people worldwide. Understanding how IL-6 affects bone health could lead to the development of new treatments for osteoporosis and other age-related bone diseases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Studying biological and physical phenomena in extreme conditions allows researchers to advance fundamental scientific knowledge needed for longer spaceflights and longer stays in space, as well as to benefit life on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The experiment will study the effects of microgravity on cells involved in bone formation and breakdown, as well as explore potential ways to prevent bone loss. This research could help protect astronauts during future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as contribute to the development of osteoporosis treatments for millions of people on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/i> Comment on Facebook* The owner of the Meta company is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned.<\/span><\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exposure to altered gravity during spaceflight can cause physiological changes. One such change is the inability to completely empty the bladder or urinary retention. Exposure to microgravity causes bone atrophy\/loss, which increases blood calcium levels and increases the risk of kidney stones. The results of this new study may shed light on age-related bone loss, which affects millions of people on Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,993],"tags":[954,736,956,955,465],"class_list":{"0":"post-2058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geliobiology","8":"category-astrobiology","9":"tag-bone-mass","10":"tag-calcium","11":"tag-long-term-flight","12":"tag-microgravity","13":"tag-stem-cells"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2058"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2221,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058\/revisions\/2221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}