Also: gravitropism, statoliths, NASA Twins Study, Scott Kelly, bone loss in space, microgravity
Plants sense gravity to decide which way to grow, and in space the near absence of gravity changes the human body, from bones to genes.
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Morita reviewed gravitropism, in which starch-filled plastids (amyloplasts) moving inside gravity-sensing cells trigger plants to reorient their growth; starch is important but not essential.
As reported in: Morita (2010). Directional Gravity Sensing in Gravitropism. Annual Review of Plant Biology. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.043008.092042
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Garrett-Bakelman and colleagues compared an astronaut during a year on the ISS with his identical twin on Earth and found changes including telomere lengthening, gene-expression and microbiome changes and some post-flight cognitive decline; most returned near baseline within 6 months.
As reported in: Garrett-Bakelman, Darshi, Green et al. (2019). The NASA Twins Study: A multidimensional analysis of a year-long human spaceflight. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aau8650
Vico and colleagues studied the effects of long-term microgravity on weight-bearing bones of cosmonauts.
As reported in: Vico, Collet, Guignandon et al. (2000). Effects of long-term microgravity exposure on cancellous and cortical weight-bearing bones of cosmonauts. The Lancet. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02217-0
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Lang and colleagues scanned 14 crew members after 4–6 month ISS flights and found hip bone lost mainly by thinning from the inside; earlier Mir studies had reported losses of about 1% a month from the spine and 1.5% from the hip.
As reported in: Lang, LeBlanc, Evans et al. (2004). Cortical and Trabecular Bone Mineral Loss From the Spine and Hip in Long-Duration Spaceflight. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. doi:10.1359/jbmr.040307
Mukhopadhyay and colleagues reanalysed published gene-expression data from human cells in microgravity and identified about 100 shared pathways, many linked to reduced inflammation and immunity.
As reported in: Mukhopadhyay, Saha, Palanisamy et al. (2016). A systems biology pipeline identifies new immune and disease related molecular signatures and networks in human cells during microgravity exposure. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep25975