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NASA study examines the effects of microgravity on the immune system
An oxygen burst released from leukocytes, magnified 20 times (Image: ESA)
A new study by NASA intends to examine the detrimental effects of microgravity on the immune system, by studying the blood of rats and blue mussels over the course of a prolonged stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The experiments, TripleLux A & TripleLux B, will be transported to the station by consecutive SpaceX commercial resupply missions. It is hoped that the results of the study could potentially inform future treatment options for immune system deficiencies both in space and on Earth.
Ordinarily, the human body is protected by a highly-advanced immune system comprised of large cells known as leukocytes that swarm potentially hazardous foreign bodies, producing a bloom of oxygen that makes an invading entity easier to eliminate. However, thanks to previous studies on the immune system in microgravity, we know that an astronaut's immune system is for some reason less effective in space than it is back on Earth. NASA scientists hope to capitalize on this phenomenon, using the unique environment existing aboard the ISS to understand why the system is compromised, and examine how a weakened immune system fights off an infection in a controlled microgravity environment.
In the pursuit of this goal, the agency plans to send two experiments to the ISS, the first of which, TripleLux-B, is slated to launch to the station aboard SpaceX's fifth resupply mission to the station on the 16th of this month. This experiment will study the cellular changes exhibited by blue mussels, an organism with a highly-advanced immune system, whilst the second, TripleLux-B, will examine the protective system of mice. These animals were chosen as test subjects, as both boast relatively similar immune systems that are easy to maintain in microgravity.
In order to ensure the good health of the crew aboard the ISS, the station's sealed atmosphere must be kept free of potentially harmful agents. Therefore, to safely observe how a weakened immune system reacts to a potentially harmful foreign body, the crew will expose the subjects to zymosan, a non-harmful bacteria derived from yeast. The crew will then observe the immune systems at work, using a luminescent chemical to emphasize the tell-tale oxygen bursts that appear as the leukocyte cells neutralize the invader.
TripleLux Advanced Experimental Containment (AEC) hardware (Image: ESA)
"Our goal with TripleLux-B is to find out whether the cells of the immune system of the mussel, which is older in an evolutionary sense, are affected in the same way as those in the immune system of an astronaut – or, in this case, a rat," states Peter-Diedrich Hansen, a professor of toxicology and a senior research scientist at Germany’s Berlin Institute for Technology and Principal Investigator of the project. "And if not, what makes it different?".
It is also hoped that the experiments will be instrumental in shedding light on the effects of microgravity on a cellular level, and how these changes weaken the effectiveness of the immune system. Furthermore, NASA intends to isolate the effects resulting from prolonged exposure to microgravity from those caused by, for example, radiation, with help from the European Space Agency's (ESA) BIOLAB centrifuge, currently installed aboard the ISS.
During this stage of the experiment, specimens will be tested in BIOLAB's 1g centrifuge, simulating the effects of Earth's gravity whilst still exposing the subjects to cosmic radiation. This process will allow scientists to deduce whether the lowered immune system evidenced in astronauts returning from a stint aboard the station, is a result of microgravity, cosmic radiation, or a combination of the two.
It is hoped that the results of this research will lead to new treatment options for those suffering from an impaired immune system living on Earth, and eventually lead to measures that will protect astronauts embarking on long-haul missions to Mars, and beyond.
Source: NASA
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-esa-iss-microgravity-immune-system/35130/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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