Astronauts traveling to Mars will face many challenges, but one of the most serious is muscle loss during long space missions. A new study led by University of Florida researcher Siobhan Malany, Ph.D., sheds light on how human biology changes in microgravity and could help protect astronaut health while also offering hope for patients with muscle-wasting diseases on Earth.
Malany, an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, a member of UF’s Astraeus Space Institute, and director of the in-space Biomanufacturing Innovation Hub, recently published findings showing how muscle cells adapt in space. Her team studied bioengineered three-dimensional muscle tissues derived from biopsy cells from both younger and older individuals and observed how they responded to electrical stimulation in microgravity.
These micro-scale tissues called “tissue chips” were given nutrients and electric pulses autonomously in a miniature laboratory the size of a shoe box called a CubeLab.x. A camera system inside the box recorded the rate of muscle contraction.
“This research is about more than just space,” Malany said. “By understanding how muscle tissue deteriorates much faster in microgravity, we can uncover new strategies to address muscle loss that occurs naturally with aging and with age-related diseases here on Earth.”
The study found that younger muscle tissue showed more pronounced changes in mitochondrial pathways — cellular systems that produce energy — than older tissue did when exposed to microgravity. Researchers also discovered that, on Earth, older muscle tissue responds less to electrical stimulation than younger tissue. But in space, the younger tissue showed a noticeable drop in its ability to contract, suggesting that younger muscle may experience a greater change when exposed to the space environment.