Humans aren’t exactly built for space travel. That’s why astronauts are known to have lower bone density, fewer blood cells and more upon returning to Earth. However, immune dysfunction and inflammatory conditions are also common for spacefarers and a new study indicates it might be because the environment up there is TOO sterile.
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00:00Humans aren't exactly built for space travel.
00:06That's why astronauts are known to have lower bone density, fewer blood cells, and more
00:10health issues upon returning to Earth.
00:12However, immune dysfunction and inflammatory conditions are also common for spacefarers,
00:17and a new study indicates it might be because the environment up there is too sterile.
00:22Researchers found that the International Space Station has too little microbe diversity compared
00:25to Earth.
00:26This only makes sense as astronauts undergo a period of isolation, and the main way microbes
00:30get up there is from skin that is shed naturally.
00:33In fact, microbes of any particular kind were usually isolated to their respective areas,
00:37i.e. food microbes in the food prep areas and urine and fecal microbes near the toilet
00:42areas.
00:43The study found that surfaces lack the consistent free-living environmental microbes present
00:47on Earth.
00:48So why is that important?
00:49Well, free-living microbes actually contribute to a healthy immune system.
00:52In fact, previous studies have revealed that the microbes that humans are exposed to from
00:56soil while gardening actually improve health.
00:59Experts say this could be something to further investigate, and that incorporating a healthy
01:03and diverse microbiome aboard the ISS could improve the health of astronauts.