Since fiction is said to be turning into reality with plans of humans going back to the moon this decade and further goals of traveling to Mars in the coming years. But there is a need to find out how to keep astronauts in good health condition for these long-term missions.
One solution science fiction has long been championing is suspended animation, or, according to The Conversation, "putting humans in a hibernation-like sleep for the duration of travel time."
Indeed, said report specified that humans could turn to nature for guidance and a possible solution to such a challenge.
Suspended animation and biostasis may bring about humans' science fiction images in "cryosleep pods." If humans could be put in a state of suspended animation by significantly slowing or even completely halting metabolic activity, issues around space travel could be alleviated. Such issues include time, size of spacecraft, health issues, and space allocation.
The question now is how humans could be safely eased into hibernation and then return them at the right time minus risking muscle and bone wasting, among few other challenges.
The United States Department of Defense, as well as other space agencies, are actively looking into this, according to The Conversation.
Hibernation
Many may have wondered how to translate hibernation in animals to humans. A recent study has unveiled such a capability in animals that are evolutionary akin to humans-hibernating primates.
What's extraordinary about these primates is that they can get into a hibernation state when there is a scarcity of resources and the temperatures become cold. They do so as well, minus the severe drop in their body temperature.
One of the dynamic forces behind this extreme capability is microRNAs, short RNA pieces acting as molecular gene silencers. Specifically, microRNAs can control regular gene expression minus changing the genetic code itself.
By examining the microRNA strategy these animals are using, this genetic "on or off" switch can be exploited for fast, changeable alterations that could aid hibernation in humans.
This recent work specifically on gray mouse lemurs or Microcebus murinus presents how microRNAs regulate which biological processes stay on to shield the animal and which ones are turned off for energy-saving.
Other roles seem to involve preventing cell death, slowing down or stopping unnecessary cell growth, and switching fuel stores from quickly consumed sugars to slower-burned fats.
Other Aspects
While such microRNA strategies are said to be a potential avenue of study, they are only a single piece of the puzzle, the study investigators said.
The lab is looking as well into other aspects of how primates are hibernating, such as these lemurs are shielding their cells against stress, regulate global levels of the gene, and the manner they store adequate energy for their survival from hibernation.
Lastly, the lab looks into how microRNAs are also helping animals overcome other extreme environmental stresses, which include deprivation from oxygen, hot and dry climates, and freezing.
There is no stress considered more extreme compared to the vacuum of space. Researchers are hoping their study will contribute to new interventions based on RNA that are receiving attention and developing as doable human treatments.
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