New method of healing by microgravity

Cancer and bacteria cells behave differently when they are not affected by the Earth's gravity. Thanks to this phenomenon, scientists can find new ways to treat infectious diseases and tumors.

The universe is not a friendly place to life. Astronauts exposed to cosmic radiation experience adverse changes. Weightless state - more accurately, the status of appeal - makes muscles and bones, the immune system of astronauts become weak, lose finely eyes fast. 

After being put into microgravity, 80-90% of the cancer cells are no longer active.

These adverse conditions are used by scientists when looking for new drugs to treat cancer or polio. 'When I first started researching this issue, many colleagues said I was crazy. However, I think cosmic biology is the future of medicine, '' said Dr. Joshua Chou of the University of Technology Sydney (Australia).

The cancer itself 'disintegrates'

Thanks to the late scientist Stephen Hawking (England), PhD. Chou began researching the relationship between gravity and cancer. Professor Hawking once told Dr. Chou that nothing in the universe could resist gravity. A few years later, a friend of TS. Chou had cancer and he wondered what happens to cancer cells without Earth's gravity?

Professor Cheryl Nickerson.

Melanomas usually start from a small group of cells. After a while, some of them may divide and move to another location - that is, metastasis. So far, scientists are still not sure what causes this phenomenon.

One of the theories says that cancer cells sense each other through mechanical forces. As the tumor grows, these forces change and then metastases occur. Cancer cells, like humans, evolve in an environment of gravity. As this force weakens, the rules governing tumor growth also change. 

Dr. Chou's team proved this when they placed cancer cells in a centrifuge simulating conditions in orbit around the Earth. The results were surprising. 'After being put into microgravity, 80-90% of cancer cells become invalid. Either they die, or they are no longer able to link and form tumors. The four types of cancer cells (ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung and sinus cancer) we studied are the cells of the most difficult cancers to treat, '' Dr. Chou emphasized.

Dr. Joshua Chou.

Previously, Dr. Chou participated in research on the International Space Station with the aim of developing a new drug to treat osteoporosis. Therefore, the next stage in his research was to conduct experiments on orbit. The cancer cell samples will be taken by the SpaceX spacecraft to the ISS Station. The scientists will then observe the behavior of these cells under microgravitational conditions. Next, they froze the cells and sent them back to Earth to analyze the genetic changes in those cells.

It is not clear at this time what treatments could form on the basis of these studies. The sending of cancer patients into orbit is not mentioned. A more practical task would be to build gravity-reducing centrifuges for cancer patients to prevent, for example, the possibility of metastasis. 'The best solution is to develop drugs that are able to deceive and' persuade 'cancer cells, that they are in microgravitational conditions. This drug does not replace chemotherapy, but may increase the effectiveness of this treatment, 'Dr. Chou said.

When antibiotics do not work

The cancer cell samples will be taken by the SpaceX spacecraft to the ISS Station.

Studies show that bacterial culture on the ISS is especially dangerous. This may be, in part, because the microgravitational environment of bacteria meets similar conditions in the human body. In fluid that covers the inside of the intestinal wall, the respiratory system or the excretory system, the mechanical forces have a very weak impact . 'We easily recreate such conditions. We can use that to fight bacteria, including drug-resistant bacteria, '' explains Professor Cheryl Nickerson, an infectious disease specialist at Arizona State University. For more than a decade, Nickerson's team has been studying the behavior of salmonella-shaped bacteria (gut bacteria) on the ISS Station. They found that microgravity facilitates the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

It is likely that thanks to these studies, scientists have discovered new anti-bacterial drugs. 'This is our ultimate goal. However, we need to conduct long-term studies to determine how bacteria respond to changes in their environment, '' Professor Nickerson said.

Scientists are also interested in the problem of living in the universe that affects intestinal bacteria - bacteria that are beneficial to humans . 'The composition and number of intestinal bacteria vary in astronauts, making them more susceptible to disease,' said Dr. Hernan Lorenzi of the Craig Venter Research Institute (USA). These findings could affect the plan of crew-operated space flights, which last for months with a possible destination of Mars.