Worms 'exploration' space

A flight into space of millions of microscopic worms could help solve threats to humans when exploring space.

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) - Photo: ac.uk.

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), provided by experts at the University of Nottingham (UK), has helped scientists to prevent muscle loss in patients and the elderly. This worm was introduced into space on the space shuttle Atlantis. C on this ship was at 11 days in orbit at the International Space Station (ISS).

Many genes among C. elegan's 20,000 genes exhibited similar functions to human genes . Physiologists at Nottingham University (UK) want to study the effectiveness of RNAi (RNAi), a tried and tested technique to control gene expression in diseased tissue, as well as to consider This technique can be done to minimize or control the strong muscle degradation in astronauts in space flight.

According to PloS ONE , the research results show that RNAi, the technique has undergone more than 12 clinical trials aimed at diseases from cancer to asthma, has been working normally on flights into space and has Can be used as a viable option to treat and control muscle weakness when performing space exploration missions.

This finding is not only useful for astronauts but also facilitates better care for patients with osteoporosis due to aging or illness.

Dr. Nathaniel Szewczyk of the research team said, this is a pretty simple experiment. When the worms were in space, scientists on the ship would treat them with RNAi and then send the results to earth for analysis. ' These results are very interesting as they provide a valuable experimental tool for space travel research and clearly demonstrate that RNAi can be used effectively to prevent proteins needed for shrinking muscles , 'said Szewczyk.

Dr. Szewczyk's worms, taken from a garbage dump in Bristol, live on decaying plant growth by C. elegans .