Muscle atrophy is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function that occurs when there is a long period of inactivity of the muscles or defects in motor neuron's (Reilly, Beau 2015). Defects in the motor neurons that stimulate the muscle cause the muscle mass to decrease as proteins that initiate contractions of muscle dissipate. Stimulus is not transferred to the weakened muscle fibers effectively, reducing the contractile force possible for generation from the stimulus. Muscle mass increases upon recovery, as restimulation of the muscle enlarges fiber size, thus a greater contractile force can be generated from the stimulus.
The first risk is Gravity. NASA will soon be sending astronauts to Mars, where the gravity is ⅓ of earth's, and this has major implications on the human body. In the 6 months that it takes to travel between planets, the astronauts would be weightless. Without gravity your bones lose minerals,
NASA has always had the best equipment available to them when training their astronauts to live in a reduced gravity environment. Now their equipment is being used to help treat and prevent many different sports injuries. The Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill is being implemented in many rehabilitation centers for use as sports injury therapy.
Of all the tissues in the body, skeletal muscle can adapt the easiest. —- On the outside of the muscle just deep to the sarcolemma, are small cells that lack cytoplasm and help with the reparation of muscles, called satellite cells. During an intense workout, the fibers within the muscle tissue become damaged as they break down and tear. The job of
Will The joy of having less gravity on mars effect the rest of her life? Not only the lack of gravity will be a downside the air there and the weather are hugely important to keep tract of. Jennifer L. Holm Uses Scientific information in her fictional story “Follow The Water”.
The NASA space program has had enormous impacts on the world. Thanks to NASA the United States has explored thousands of celestial bodies throughout the galaxy with telescopes, rovers, and in the moon 's case, people. In the next decade, NASA plans to expand the United State’s human exploration to more than just the moon. A Mars mission has been in NASA’s eye for quite a while now and with technology advancing every day, they feel it is time to send men and women to the red planet. Some believe the journey could prove too dangerous for humans; however, through research and development scientists can find ways to safely transport astronauts to and from Mars. This is a necessary step in the country 's advancements in health, technology and
Since time immemorial, humankind has gazed upwards at the canopy of the heavens and pondered humanity’s significance, questioning the meaning of life. Being but mere specks of dust on the canvas upon which the universe paints its portrait of all existence, do we even matter? Are our lives meaningless? Hemingway’s
Mars, one of Earth's neighboring planets, has been studied since the beginning of mankind. More recently, however, the United States of America has been considering the human colonization of Mars. A manned mission to Mars is something humans need to pursue, regardless the price. A human colonization on Mars could
The recovery from illness or injury often requires otherwise healthy humans to undergo a period of muscle disuse (e.g. bed rest or limb immobilization). A major consequence of disuse is skeletal muscle atrophy. The ensuing impairments in muscle function, metabolic rate and insulin sensitivity, and accrual of body fat mass following two or more weeks of muscle disuse have been well documented. Studies investigating muscle disuse atrophy generally employ relatively long experimental periods, ranging from two to as long as 17 weeks of bed rest or limb immobilization. However, over the last decade, efforts have been made within healthcare systems to reduce the duration of bed rest/immobilization that patients endure due to illness or injury. At
We like to think of space as some vast place of mystery; just waiting for us to explore it. It lives and breaths in our media, “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before (Star Trek monologue)”. The dream of one day exploring space has been around for decades. And while we have had some success in that area, there is still much more to explore. One such area of exploration is Mars. People have been interested in Mars for years now, wishing to one day colonize the red planet. And one day, we will do just that. Not only to fuel are curiosity, but also to help save our species, and bring resources back to the blue planet that we love so much.
Our bodies are not built for space. The exposure to radiation can cause cataracts, brain damage, and cancer. Weightlessness can cause muscle mass loss, bone mass loss, and bad circulation. Author of "Humans may dream of traveling to Mars, but our bodies aren't built for it," Charles Wohlforth and Amanda Hendrix explains "Doctor-astronauts working on the International Space Station in 2009 also discovered that living in weightlessness can damage the optic nerve. In the absence of gravity, cerebral-spinal fluid stops circulating. On voyages of more than a year, that could lead to blindness or contribute to dementia," [3]. This is a big problem when it comes to space travel, and should be NASA's biggest priority.
It can also jeopardize the functional performance when adapting to a novel gravitational environment in an acute phase. Some researches have indicated the changes in manual control, visual performance, spatial orientation and gait control after space flight missions, and the greatest changes usually happen immediately after the astronaut experience gravity transition. Also, it is shown that the longer the time of the flight is, the larger possibility of post flight disturbances
Some of the astronauts experienced visual impairment as well. Overall, Strickland (2017) indicates in the article that the overall findings suggest long-term space flights cause an increase in cerebrospinal fluid, narrowing of the central sulcus, and an upward shift of the brain. However, further research must be done to determine the duration and significance of these changes. This research on the brains of astronauts is crucial because as humans grow more and more technologically advanced and plan for further space exploration and possible colonization of other planets, it is important to understand the possible effects space flight can have on our brains and bodies.
The calcium and phosphorous is excreted through human waste, causing kidney stones in many cases [3]. The most affected bones consist of the heel, femoral neck, lumbar spine and pelvis. Astronauts spend between 2-5 hours a day exercising to try to decrease this atrophy, but will still experience varying levels of bone and muscle loss [3]. The use of artificial gravity could mitigate this problem, and is currently being researched and designed. Along with bone loss, Astronauts will also experience growth in height, by about 3% [3]. Without gravity, the human spine isn’t weighed down and has room to expand. This causes severe back and muscle aches, and makes exercising harder and more painful. Once astronauts return to Earth, they will return to their normal height [3].
is good for (below) Striated muscle tissue (above) is associated with the muscles related to the skeleton and movement. Striated muscle tissue is the muscle tissue located directly under the skin and are the muscles that are the most visible. There are two types muscles in skeletal muscles, these are fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. Fast twitch muscles have a fast form of myosin ATP and are very