The Conversation contributed the article to Space.com's expert voices.
Emmanouil Karteris is a Reader in Biomedical Sciences at Brunel University London.
It's a hostile environment in space. It is only a matter of time before ordinary people are exposed to this environment either by engaging in space tourism or by joining self-sustaining colonies far away from Earth.
There needs to be a better understanding of how the environment will affect our biology. We need to know if we can reproduce in environments other than Earth.
There are documented effects of radiation on our cells. Scientists don't know how lower levels of gravity will affect our cells.
Exposure to microgravity may affect activity in our cells. Experiments on embryonic stem cells and models of how embryos develop in space will help determine if it is possible for humans to produce offspring in the future.
There are 29 studies looking at the effects of exploration.
Some animals have been assessed for their ability to reproduce in space. It's possible for organisms such as fish, frog and geckos to produce fertilized eggs during spaceflight that can live and reproduce on Earth, according to research.
In mammals, the picture is more complex. A study of mice found that their reproductive cycle was disrupted by exposure to microgravity. Rats exposed to microgravity had negative neurological alterations. These effects could also be passed on to future generations.
Our cells wouldn't work in microgravity. They evolved in the Earth's unique gravity. Earth's gravity helps to anchor and exert force on our tissues, our cells, and our intracellular contents. There is a study of this.
The division of cells and the movement of genes within them, which is crucial to the development of a fetus, also works with and against the force of gravity. When the force of gravity changes, systems may be affected.
The rate of division can be faster at one end of the embryo than it is at the other. The position of the first building blocks is determined by gravity.
The correct body plan of a fetus can be established with the help of gravity.
Stem cells can develop into all cells of the body if they are affected by microgravity, but researchers are unsure if that is the case. There is some evidence that when rodents are subjected to microgravity their ability to become desired cell types may be affected.
Human stem cells can be produced from normal mature cells of our bodies, which are called Induced pluripotent stem cells. Experiments on Earth have shown that stem cells can grow in microgravity. The International Space Station is currently home to two batches of stem cells to see if they can be reproduced in space.
If adult stem cells do grow in space, it could open the door for commercial stem cell manufacturers to produce these cells in space, since it's difficult to culture enough stem cells on Earth to treat diseases.
It's not clear how exposure to microgravity will affect normal cellular processes.
It seems that short-term exposure to microgravity won't have much of an effect on our cells. Longer exposure days are likely to have an effect. We already know how to protect against radiation, so this doesn't take into account that.
There are two ways to protect against the adverse effects of microgravity on our biology: intervention at the cellular level, using drugs or nanotechnology, and intervention on the environmental level. The fields of study are still in their infancy.
Stem cells can be studied in space to get a better idea of how pregnancies can work or not work. If you're lucky enough to go to space, you might want to avoid trying to get pregnant before or after the flight.
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