Tag: microgravity
Inflammatory bowel disease and epithelial barrier function
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occurs when the epithelial cells lining the gut become weakened, allowing gut microbes to activate immune cells. Gut barrier weakening can be caused by a loss of function of the PTPN2 gene. Professor Declan McCole of the University of California, Riverside and various collaborators have extensively researched the role of the epithelial barrier in IBD, the […]
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Responses to spaceflight: The mouth as a mirror
During spaceflight astronauts experience extreme environmental conditions, such as cosmic radiation and the absence of gravity that impact their physiology. The resulting changes must be monitored. While blood is usually used to assess astronauts’ health, Professor Arthur Hand and Dr Maija Mednieks, from the University of Connecticut, suggest that saliva could be used as a non-invasive, easily collectible diagnostic fluid. […]
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