Lie back and think of science

Abstract

Reports on a project being run by MEDES, the French Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France. The project's goal is to measure how the body responds to microgravity and how to mitigate its damaging effects on our physiology, in order to help astronauts spend longer stints in orbit. A dozen female volunteers to the project will lie with their heads at a 6В° downwards slant while they do everything, for 60 days, to simulate the conditions of space. Most bedrest studies to date have focused on changes in blood flow, bone and muscle mass. This study will also look at these effects, but with a few novel twists--including the gender make-up of the study group. Although there is no reason to think that female physiological responses to rest are radically different from men's, there are bound to be hormonal differences. And there are hints that women might faint more easily after a period in low gravity than men. The 12 women in the study will explore the effects of exercise and will test whether muscle loss can be minimized by eating a high-protein diet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)