As health journalists, we don’t often get a chance to write about completely different areas of science, like physics or space. But sometimes an intersection appears, like an ongoing NASA mission. It’s a great example of a fascinating opportunity to report on infectious disease and space.
A SpaceX Cargo Dragon launched on Nov. 4 as a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) flight bound with supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). But this flight, the 31st of NASA’s public-private partnership to regularly resupply the ISS, carried more than just cargo and supplies. Among the various science experiments on board are several directly related to human health, including one related to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, another on growing food in space that’s safe to eat, and another on inflammation, blood clots and immune responses.
Understanding antibiotic resistance in space
Two forms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been detected on the ISS: Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. One of the projects aboard the most recent launch is the Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space (GEARS) project. Led by Christopher Carr at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the goal of GEARS is to monitor the space station for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and better understand how they survive in microgravity so researchers can come up with ways to protect astronauts from infection, particularly during long missions. But the project could have implications for antibiotic-resistant bacteria on Earth as well, such as better understanding of how they grow and thrive in hospital environments.
Possible story angles:
- What are the prevalence rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in your local hospitals? Could this project play a role in reducing them?
- How do astronauts keep themselves safe from infection in an enclosed environment with known antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing around them? Are there lessons for how people on Earth can better protect themselves?
- How do space crews manage infections? Does that management protocol hold lessons for care on Earth?
- How do antibiotic-resistant bacteria get there? Could answers help prevent their growth on Earth?
Inflammation, blood clots and immunity
Another project focuses on how microgravity affects megakaryocytes, the large bone marrow cells that produce platelets. A primary objective of the Megakaryocytes Orbiting in Outer Space and Near Earth (MeF1) project, led by Hansjorg Schwertz at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and the Billings Clinic, is to understand how both megakaryocytes and platelets adapt to microgravity and other environmental changes during spaceflight, such as alterations in radiation exposure.
But researchers are learning that megakaryocytes do more than just produce platelets. They’re also found in the lungs, fetal liver, yolk sac, and spleen. More recent research suggests they have other functions, including contributing to immune responses and supporting niches for stem cells. Megakaryocytes can take on the role of certain immune cells, such as presenting antigens and promoting inflammation. So MeF1 will hopefully also shed light on spaceflight’s impacts — not only on blood clotting but also on inflammation.
Possible story angles:
- Though speculative, it could be interesting to ask medical researchers how discoveries about inflammation in space could have implications for health on Earth, such as autoimmune disease, dementia, stress, immune responses to infectious disease, or other aspects of inflammation.
- Are there any industries or careers in your local area that involve stress that causes inflammation? How might you connect what we learn in space to how that could help people in that local industry?
- What are common blood clotting conditions that this research might shed light on?
- What are the implications of learning how certain genes are affected by different levels of gravity or space radiation?
- What possible implications might studying megakaryocytes have on better understanding longevity?
The story ideas presented here are just that — ideas, hopefully, to spur more ideas. Some may go nowhere. But others might open unexpected (and fun!) paths to explore for local or national stories. Newsrooms can also reach out to NASA to find out when results are expected so they can plan coverage and find local angles to link it to.
