{"id":648562,"date":"2024-04-16T18:25:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T22:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=648562"},"modified":"2024-04-16T18:27:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T22:27:28","slug":"spaceflight-atrophy-studied-with-machine-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/ames-science\/ames-space-biosciences\/spaceflight-atrophy-studied-with-machine-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceflight Atrophy Studied with Machine Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA astronaut Sunita Williams exercises\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg 4288w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=300,199 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=768,510 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=1024,680 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=1536,1020 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=2048,1360 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=400,266 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=600,399 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=900,598 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=1200,797 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?resize=2000,1328 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">ISS032-E-011701 (4 Aug. 2012) — NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong>: Even intense exercise by astronauts cannot compensate for muscle atrophy caused by microgravity. Atrophy occurs, in part, by way of an underlying mechanism that regulates calcium uptake. Recent research has shown exposure to spaceflight alters the uptake of calcium in muscles. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive these changes are not well studied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers at Ames Research Center investigated these mechanisms by applying Machine Learning (ML) to identify patterns in datasets on mice exposed to microgravity. ML methods are particularly effective in identifying patterns in complex biological data and are suited for space biological research where small datasets are often combined to increase statistical power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the image above, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, exercises on the load-bearing treadmill in the ISS. Resistance training can counteract the negative health effects of microgravity on muscle atrophy, but new Ames Research Center research seeks to understand the physiological mechanisms at play to identify biomarkers that can inform innovative counter measures. The study was a project of NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/ames\/the-space-life-sciences-training-program-at-ames-research-center\/\">Space Life Sciences Training Program<\/a> at Ames Research Center, which provided funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Findings<\/strong>: Machine Learning analysis shows molecular drivers to physiological changes in the calcium channel sarcoplasmic\/ endoplasmic reticulum (SERCA) pump, leading to muscle changes and muscle loss in spaceflight rodents. ML models were created to identify proteins that could predict an organism\u2019s resilience to microgravity with respect to calcium uptake in muscles. Specific proteins, Acyp1 and Rps7, were found to be the most predictive biomarkers associated with enhanced calcium intake in fast-twitch muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Impact<\/strong>: This study offered a first look at the use of ML on calcium uptake in muscle when exposed to microgravity conditions. This study demonstrated the role of NASA\u2019s open science initiative in accelerating space biology by its reliance on ARC\u2019s Open Science Data Repository (<a href=\"https:\/\/osdr.nasa.gov\/bio\/\" rel=\"noopener\">OSDR<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/osdr.nasa.gov\/bio\/awg\/about.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Analysis Working Groups<\/a>, as well as the involvement of an international research team from the US, Canada, Denmark, and Australia. Notably, the article\u2019s first author was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, demonstrating the unlimited potential of NASA-Berkeley collaborations in life sciences research with the upcoming Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Reference: Li, K., Desai, R., Scott, R., Steele, J.,\u2026 Sanders, L., Costes, S. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41526-023-00337-5\" rel=\"noopener\">Explainable machine learning identifies multi-omics signatures of muscle response to spaceflight in mice<\/a>.\u00a0<em>npj Microgravity<\/em>\u00a09, 90 (December 2023). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Background: Even intense exercise by astronauts cannot compensate for muscle atrophy caused by microgravity. Atrophy occurs, in part, by way of an underlying mechanism that regulates calcium uptake. Recent research has shown exposure to spaceflight alters the uptake of calcium in muscles. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive these changes are not well studied. Researchers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":257213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[13232],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[13246],"coauthors":[13006],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Spaceflight Atrophy Studied with Machine Learning","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/ames-science\/ames-space-biosciences\/spaceflight-atrophy-studied-with-machine-learning\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/ames-science\/ames-space-biosciences\/spaceflight-atrophy-studied-with-machine-learning\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth E. Keller"}],"creator":["Elizabeth E. Keller"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Centers & Facilities","Ames Research Center","Ames Research Center's Science Directorate","Ames Space Biosciences"],"dateCreated":"2024-04-16T22:25:55Z","datePublished":"2024-04-16T22:25:55Z","dateModified":"2024-04-16T22:27:28Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Spaceflight Atrophy Studied with Machine Learning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/ames-science\/ames-space-biosciences\/spaceflight-atrophy-studied-with-machine-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2024-04-16T22:25:55Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities,Ames Research Center,Ames Research Center's Science Directorate,Ames Space Biosciences\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Elizabeth E. Keller\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":2,"time_ago":"2 weeks","featured_image":{"id":257213,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss032e011701-orig.jpeg","title":"FE Williams exercises on the T2 Treadmill","alt":"NASA astronaut Sunita Williams exercises","caption":"ISS032-E-011701 (4 Aug. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648562"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648575,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648562\/revisions\/648575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648562"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=648562"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=648562"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=648562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}