Space Worms Live Long and Prosper

astroengine writes "A microscopic worm used in experiments on the space station not only seems to enjoy living in a microgravity environment, it also appears to get a lifespan boost. This intriguing discovery was made by University of Nottingham scientists who have flown experiments carrying thousands of tiny Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) to low-Earth orbit over the years. It turns out that this little worm has genes that resemble human genes and of particular interest are the ones that govern muscle aging. Seven C. elegans genes usually associated with muscle aging were suppressed when the worms were exposed to a microgravity environment. Also, it appears spaceflight suppresses the accumulation of toxic proteins that normally gets stored inside aging muscle. Could this have implications for understanding how human physiology adapts to space?"

Comments

Offtopic

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw this pop up on the front page in real time!

I guess slashdot's javascript is good for something..

Re:Offtopic

[Anonymous Coward]

Allowing anonymous cowards to get their frosty pisses faster? Oh yeah, that's good indeed.

Re:Offtopic

[Anonymous Coward]

LOLz, pot and kettle syndrome.

Actually...

[Nexion]

It makes me wonder if I should be eating younger animals to avoid these toxins.

Re:Actually...

[kelemvor4]

Try the veal. I'll be here all week.

Re:Actually...

[Anonymous Coward]

Some of those "toxins" are involved in the release of fat from adiposcytes and research has shown they are essential for wait loss and avoiding type 2 diabetes.

Re:Actually...

[mcgrew]

The toxins will likely pass through and get flushed. I wish that biologist who posts here would show up in the biology threads, she could confirm or debunk what I just said.

Re:Actually...

[mutube]

Some of those "toxins" are involved in the release of fat from adiposcytes and research has shown they are essential for wait loss and avoiding type 2 diabetes.

Great news! I hate queuing. And diabetes.

could

[j00r0m4nc3r]

Could this have implications for understanding how human physiology adapts to space?

Sure, it could. Anything could.

Re:could

[ackthpt]

Could this have implications for understanding how human physiology adapts to space?

Sure, it could. Anything could.

In particular .. uh .. humans with worms.

Re:could

[ravenshrike]

Hey, certain famous sci-fi authors already knew about the life-extending properties of lower/microgravity for over 50 years. The real question is why it took real scientists so long to catch up

Re:could

[k(wi)r(kipedia)]

Or it could be our key to understanding another space-faring species.

Re:could

[__aaltlg1547]

Could this have implications for understanding how human physiology adapts to space? Sure, it could. Anything could.

Humans lose muscle tone, muscle mass, vision and bone. Do you want to live a little longer as a boneless nearsighted weakling? Oh wait this is Slashdot.

Re:could

[ripper234]

Betteridge's Law applies, even if it's not strictly the headline. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_Law_of_Headlines

Re:could

[Anonymous Coward]

Because higher radiation levels, bone and muscle degradation would suggest otherwise

Re:could

[Mindcontrolled]

Hm. Transformation into a free-floating ageless, sightless and boneless slug. Now give me some Spice and I am set for my transformation into a Guild Navigator.

Re:could

[Lord Lode]

If human physiology can adapt to avoid being eaten by giant sand worms in space, then, yes...

Re:could

[virgnarus]

One cannot lose what they never had.

They get to live longer

[ackthpt]

and eat more poo. Not sure that's really what I'd call much of a benefit.

Re:They get to live longer

[Anonymous Coward]

and eat more poo. Not sure that's really what I'd call much of a benefit.

And yet some people watch Fox news. Would the news anchors be so right wing in micro-gravity? Enquiring minds want to know - plus we get to launch them into space.

Re:They get to live longer

[Tastecicles]

a one way ticket, I trust?

Re:They get to live longer

[ackthpt]

a one way ticket, I trust?

didn't read it? the worms got a round trip ticket!!! Even Richard "Call Me Lord British" Garriott had to pay millions of zorkmids for the privilege.

Re:They get to live longer

[drinkypoo]

And yet some people watch Fox news. Would the news anchors be so right wing in micro-gravity?

We can find that out with the vomit comet. It would be more interesting to see how they fare in a near-vacuum, and we can find that out without even the cost of an airplane launch.

Use Bill Gates' money for HUMANS

[Anonymous Coward]

I know this project was probably not funded by B and M Gates Foundation, but just think if we, as a society, used Bill Gates money to put PEOPLE into space that LIVE LONG...AND PROSPER!!! Why does our society not LEGALLY justify confiscating Bill Gates unimaginable vast resources to do for people what space has done for worms? We could redistribute his wealth to find out how to live long alongside worms in space, and for us to not do so for the greater good CONDEMNS us to HELL!

Re:Use Bill Gates' money for HUMANS

[Anonymous Coward]

I heard that people like you existed in theory, but never actually saw one in the wild. Go whine yourself into a grave.

Re:Use Bill Gates' money for HUMANS

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you a worm? Are you in space? Then the SPAA is for YOU! Hint hint....

Interesting

[Nationless]

I always wondered what kind of effect zero gravity would have on animals with certain traits;

Will spiderwebs look the same?
Does a fish swim differently in a floating body of water?
Will a bird adapt to floating without wind?
Will ants be able to place scent trails in mid air?

The list goes on.

Re:Interesting

[White Flame]

Will a bird adapt to floating without wind?

From a bird's perspective, the world is their toilet. I can't see that adapting to microgravity very well.

Re:Interesting

[mechtech256]

If spiders can learn how to build a web in zero gravity after a few tries (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Space/story?id=6301339&page=1), it's safe to say that birds/fish would probably be able to navigate, at least as far as physics allows them to. Obviously things like the magnetic pathfinding of birds would be useless in space.

Re:Interesting

[ackthpt]

I always wondered what kind of effect zero gravity would have on animals with certain traits;

Will spiderwebs look the same?
Does a fish swim differently in a floating body of water?
Will a bird adapt to floating without wind?
Will ants be able to place scent trails in mid air?

The list goes on.

I am in awe.

You clearly should be working at NASA.

Re:Interesting

[Tastecicles]

Absent gravity, spider webs are surprisingly symmetrical (a href="http://www.space.com/6142-spider-success-weightless-webs-spun-space.html">Linky).
Mummichogs have been used to study motion sickness in space - they're apparently very adaptable to changing gravitational environments.
As a matter of physics, flight relies on three things: lift, drag and thrust. In space, you don't need lift and drag (since these two factors depend on gravity), you're left with thrust. As birds don't have vector thrusting, I'd think they'd just flap around in fairly straight lines until they collide with walls.

As for the ant question, I refer you to the recent broadcast by Kent Brockman:

"The spacecraft has apparently been taken over - "conqured" if you will - by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves."

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

why do you think there is no drag? that has nothing to do with gravity - the aerodynamic effects of air on a bird will still exist since
there will need to be air for the bird to breath. This isn't a vacuum.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Spiderwebs look overall pretty much the same, but it took a little longer for the spiders to finish them. Fish swim the same (Skylab 3 also had some mummichogs) although the fish were still on a tank. Birds are more tricky and the Russians took some quails into Mir, there are some videos around but the quails are not really good fliers.

Re:Interesting

[kelemvor4]

eh, I dunno. On earth, they only get to shit "down". In space they could shit in any direction any time.

Re:Interesting

[xevioso]

This is the difference between the word "bemute", which means to drop poo upon from a great height, and the word "bescumber", which means to spray with poo.

One of these works in space, and one will not.

Re:Interesting

[R3d M3rcury]

Will spiderwebs look the same?

No.

Does a fish swim differently in a floating body of water?

Yes, initially, though they appear to figure it out.

Will a bird adapt to floating without wind?

Tough to tell. Birds require gravity to swallow, so it'd have to be a really quick flight...

Will ants be able to place scent trails in mid air?

Not sure they've ever tried free-floating ants. They had to engineer an ant farm because the ants would have been crushed by dirt during lift-off.

And that's just after a quick google.

Re:Interesting

[CrimsonAvenger]

In space, you don't need lift and drag (since these two factors depend on gravity), you're left with thrust.

LIft is not a function of gravity, but a function of the shape and motion of the wing.

Drag is a function of air pressure, surface area, shape and material. None of these are functions of gravity.

Biggest problems birds should have flying in zero-G is that they're trained to fly in a 1G field just like we are, and would have to learn to do it all over in zero G.

Re:Interesting

[CrackedButter]

What about hummingbirds, they are different somewhat right since they fly backwards and shit.

Re:Interesting

[Kittenman]

eh, I dunno. On earth, they only get to shit "down". In space they could shit in any direction any time.

What's more, Newton's law (action, reaction) would infer that they then get 'pushed' in the opposite direction to their (er...) guano. A good thing, considering.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

As hummingbirds use a very special flying technique to perform their maneuvers (flapping their wings so quickly that they "stay fixed" in 1 g), they'd go through the roof in no time. The roof being whatever lies in the general direction of their head/back region.

Same with classical helicopters. They can move so flexibly on Earth because the are suspended in a very unstable equilibrium between lift and gravity. They have to stop their rotors completely to get the same equilibrium of top/down movement in zero g. But with rotors stopped, they can't maneuver anymore.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

[Lift and drag.] None of these are functions of gravity.

The OP said none of these. But, OK, "these two factors depend on gravity" is a very vague expression, possibly meaning they were only needed in gravity.

Biggest problems birds should have flying in zero-G is that they're trained to fly in a 1G field just like we are, and would have to learn to do it all over in zero G.

Congratulations, that was the starting point for the original question.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

That makes me wonder what else you could find if you googled just a little more... =)

Re:Interesting

[cusco]

I think that of all the birds the hummingbird might fly best of any of them, since they have the unusual shoulder joint that allows their wing to rotate well beyond what other birds can. Birds will have to learn a new set of skills to control their flight in zero G, as most of their energy goes towards not falling out of the sky and relatively little to forward motion. I wish someone had taken a fe finches or a pigeon to the Space Station, but PETA would probably have a fit.

Re:Interesting

[cusco]

Only some birds seem to require gravity to drink water, others like honey dippers can drink while hanging upside down on a limb, and hummingbirds seem to have a different mechanism altogether.

Re:Interesting

[riT-k0MA]

They should be theoretically able to feather their rotors to negate lift, but you'd still have to factor in the forces from the turning of the main rotor and the tail rotor.

Re:Interesting

[CrackedButter]

Now my mind wanders to flying fish.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

The forces from main and tail rotor should balance each other out (like they do in VLEO (Very Low Earth Orbit ;). Although gravity has a balancing effect which makes it easier to maneuver down here.

But you're right in that they have other means to reduce lift a. k. a. upward thrust than reducing rotor speed (that's why some helicopters are able to fly top-down/bottom-up). But it would be challenging.

Inveterate invertebrates

[macraig]

Since these critters also happen to be invertebrates, they also don't suffer from bone loss in that same weightless environment. It was my understanding that muscle atrophy in astronauts was a secondary worry when compared to the severity of bone loss during extended missions without gravity.

I guess we need to engineer some "spacer" humans who have cartilage in place of bones? Spineless they might be, but I wouldn't wanna wrestle with one.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[wierd_w]

Its better to just design your long-term spaceflight vehicle to accommodate artificial gravity through centrifugal force. (Yes, I know it isn't a real force. That is immaterial here.)

A well designed craft could include the rotating grav habitats as part of the attitude control system, so that altering effective gravity in them could flip the ship around, etc.

It would greatly cut down on useage of control thrusters, and would resolve the gravity problem just fine. Make the grav habitats sealed away from space inside a non_moving, pressurized shell and you solve a slew of other problems too, such as reducing the need for EVAs, improve ability to repair the habitats considerably, etc.

The real issues involved are really radiation and cost. Cost being the biggest obstacle.

A ship that properly houses its crew would cost so much to orbit that it isn't fiscally reasonable.

That's the real problem. I get tired of people talking about how to solve the gravity issue: its solved. Has been since man figured out that water stays in buckets when you spin around. Radiation can be solved several ways.

Price. Its the space killer.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[bughunter]

C. elegans is also a hermaphrodite. It seems to me that space can be pretty lonely, so much so that there's more than a little concern about their psychological. Perhaps we should go ahead and genetically engineer some spacer humans to have both sexual organs? Spineless hermaphrodites, kinda like Lisa Loopner's dad.

Would you want to wrestle with one, then?

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Tastecicles]

it would be a lot easier to engineer a space installation which spins; failing that (likely given the potential cost running into tens of billions, which no nation or even group of nations can afford right now), an attached structure on the ISS which spins independently of the superstructure, in which the occupants can enjoy some portion of earth normal gravity, albeit simulated. I'd connect something to the other end of the Columbus module... or wait until the Node connector is installed (apparently around 2014).

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[l0ungeb0y]

A spine made of cartilage is still a spine, Albeit a more pliable and squishy spine but, a spine never the less.

Personally, I think the logical step is discarding the v1.0 Mansuits all together in favor of worm-like bodies, with stubby "mandible" like appendages for clinging and bio-engineered exoskeletal habitation units to replace our frail Mansuits. Extending the lifespan of a more simple organism who's brain was it's only organ of any real complexity would be a far better proposition. If these easily maintainable worm-bodies could be engineered to inhabit and control biomechanical exoskeletons via a neurological interface that provided all the senses and physical capabilities we've come to take for granted (plus a whole bunch of new and improved ones we've built in) then we could see mankind extend it's lifespan indefinitely and be far better suited for conquering the vast reaches of space.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Anonymous Coward]

Spineless hermaphrodites, kinda like Lisa Loopner's dad. Would you want to wrestle with one, then?

Space Hermaphrodite Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (aka SHWE, Inc.)
Now you know why manned space exploration isn't being pursued.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[R3d M3rcury]

Good idea. Maybe they can use the one they cancelled.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Alex Belits]

They should also have built-in weapons and a tendency to attack humanoids while screaming "Exterminate!".

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[l0ungeb0y]

No, that design doesn't work -- too easily defeated by stairs.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Anonymous Coward]

You know we have had since the early 80s for this bad joke to die yet still it persists. Even with modern Daleks flying all over the place.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Anonymous Coward]

Price. Its the space killer.

Is it really? Or is it just an artificial obstacle created by the current system?

I would think that China could dedicate a lot of personnel for a space mission without getting that much cost and material costs ought to be pretty low if you cut away taxes and the inflated cost that comes from buying it and selling it a few times before you use it.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[cusco]

Or else have actual space colonists, rather than the current there-and-back astronauts. Find out what really happens after extended living in space. Does the calcium loss stop after a certain time? We don't know, we always do everything possible to prevent it. A colonist doesn't have to worry about whether his bones will stand up to Earth gravity, since it's a one-way trip. Put them up there and see what happens. Sure, most of them will die, but most early colonists have always died throughout history. Not all of us worry about that. The current "safety above all" and "never lose a life" mindset is counter-productive if you're going to actually colonize a location rather than just visit it.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Anonymous Coward]

it would be a lot easier to engineer a space installation which spins; failing that (likely given the potential cost running into tens of billions, which no nation or even group of nations can afford right now),

There is a big difference between can't afford and doesn't want to pay for. The US doesn't want to pay for tens of billions in space exploration budget. We could easily afford it. To claim otherwise is ignorant or dishonest. Last time I checked Bill Gates was worth over 50 billion. I understand that he would be hard pressed to liquidate his wealth, and there would be other consequences to doing so but come on. So if your potential cost of tens of billions is accurate (which I am in no way convinced that it is) then the top 10 billionaires according to Forbes could easily pull it off with their over 395 billion. That's top 10 people not nations.

Re:Inveterate invertebrates

[Anonymous Coward]

I would really like to see some mice stuffed in a centrifuge for a few years. I can't imagine that this is a permanent solution, namely because the central point of force provided by gravity (center of gravity) is at the center of the earth thousands of miles below, while any centrifugal contraption would have that complimentary central point hundreds of feet above your head. Here's a diagram of the pushing force in a centrifuge ^ and the pulling force provided by gravity v, this in particular bothers me the most, because while we know humans can withstand a degree of inertial force the effect of walking around in a centrifuge is providing a force that is exactly opposite to that provided by gravity. I'm sure it could be helpful, but gravity is a very weak force and inertia is very strong, strong enough that you may eventually find all the bone density you've saved in your feet.

Yes, I am grammar nazi

[Anonymous Coward]

The error is already in the source, but scientific names of organisms should be written in italic.

Microgravity Flourishing Worm Overlords

[c0d3r]

I for one welcome our microgravity flourishing worm overlords!

not living longer, but future generations prosper

[slew]

As I understand it, in this latest experiment, they flew some worms in space, killed them (flash frozen with liquid nitrogen) and compared them with a control group on earth and then
"... identified seven genes, which were down-regulated in space and whose inactivation extended lifespan under laboratory conditions..."

You can read more here.

However, more amazing than worm just living longer, is how worms survived the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (their progeny were discovered in the wreckage a few weeks later)...

Lots of nice mag fields in space.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Obviously things like the magnetic pathfinding of birds would be useless in space.

Why? There's plenty of mag field in space - especially near-Earth space. If the habitat keeps a constant orientation with respect to the mag field and is built to allow it to penetrate the birds will have no problem. If not, a habitat large enough for it to matter, where magnetic-navigating birds are intended to fly free, will have a deliberately-generated field to keep them from becoming confused.

Duh

[Anonymous Coward]

It's because of the geriatric properties of the spice!

Worm Pon Farr

[stevegee58]

Dundundun dunt! Dundundun dunt!

Shai-Hulud

[Anonymous Coward]

Bless the Maker and His water. Bless the coming and going of Him. May His passage cleanse the world. May He keep the world for His people.

FrIst psot

[Anonymous Coward]

that comprise rules $to follow been many, not the

"This is no cave"

[awollabe]

Anyone else immediately think of Han Solo ditching the Millennium Falcon in a space slug?

Dealing with radiation?

[physburn]

How many generations have the worms been up there for? I would theorise that under cosmic, solar and van allen radiation there is strong evolution pressure to deal better with radiation and thus free radicals, wheen in space. This would lead any organism evolved in space, to have, better anti-aging mechanism than earth bound mortals. I would think this would even work on humans, and would think that human from the year 3000, who had 40 generations in space would be much longer living than earth humans.

Re:Dealing with radiation?

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless you plan to let human die by denying them medication and treatment before they produce offspring, evolution will not work as effectively with humans as with worms.

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Tor Discussion Forums + DNSCrypt

[Anonymous Coward]

# In this post:
#
# 1. Tor Discussion Forums (two hidden services)
# 2. DNSCrypt - for Linux, Mac, and Windows (from opendns)

# 1. Tor Discussion Forums (two hidden services)

We need an official Tor discussion forum.

I did not see this issue mentioned in Roger's *latest* notes post, so for now, mature adults should visit and post at one or both of these unofficial tor discussion forums, these tinyurls will take you to:

** HackBB:
http://www.tinyurl.com/hackbbonion

** Onion Forum 2.0
http://www.tinyurl.com/onionforum2

Each tinyurl link will take you to a hidden service discussion forum. Tor is required to visit these links, even though they appear to be on the open web, they will lead you to .onion sites.

I know the Tor developers can do better, but how many years are we to wait?

Caution: some topics may be disturbing. You should be eighteen years or older. I recommend you disable images in your browser when viewing these two forums[1] and only enabling them if you are posting a message, but still be careful! Disable javascript and cookies, too.

If you prefer to visit the hidden services directly, bypassing the tinyurl service:

HackBB: (directly)
http://clsvtzwzdgzkjda7.onion/

Onion Forum 2.0: (directly)
http://65bgvta7yos3sce5.onion/

The tinyurl links are provided as a simple means of memorizing the hidden services via a link shortening service (tinyurl.com).

[1]: Because any content can be posted! Think 4chan, for example. onionforum2 does not appear to be heavily moderated so be aware and take precautions.

###

# 2. DNSCrypt for Linux, Windows, Mac (from opendns.com)

"In the same way the SSL turns HTTP web traffic into HTTPS encrypted Web traffic, DNSCrypt turns regular DNS traffic into encrypted DNS traffic that is secure from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. It does not require any changes to domain names or how they work, it simply provides a method for securely encrypting communication between our customers and our DNS servers in our data centers. We know that claims alone do not work in the security world, however, so we have opened up the source to our DNSCrypt code base and it is available on GitHub"

https://www.opendns.com/technology/dnscrypt/

- Download the right package for your Linux distribution:
https://blog.opendns.com/2012/02/16/tales-from-the-dnscrypt-linux-rising/

https://github.com/opendns/dnscrypt-proxy/blob/master/README.markdown
https://github.com/opendns
https://blog.opendns.com/2012/05/08/dnscrypt-for-windows-has-arrived/
http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/05/dnscrypt-encrypts-your-dns-traffic-because-theres-always-someone-out-to-get-you/
http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/DNSCrypt-a-tool-to-encrypt-all-DNS-traffic-1392283.html
http://blog.opendns.com/2012/02/06/dnscrypt-hackers-wanted/
https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/debian-26/dnscrypt-930439/

###

eof

This won't end well

[Torgo's Pizza]

If we have to stick these worms in our ears to take advantage of this discovery, I'll pass.

If you don't use it...

[dadioflex]

... you don't lose it, essentially. If the worm is mainly a string of muscle and the muscles aren't being used, then they last longer? What this makes me wonder is, if you exercise is there a trade-off between the waste your body accumulates from "muscle sweat" (can you tell I'm not a biologist? I'm not any kind of -ist. I only arrived here because I thought it was for sexy stories about people called "Dot". Like "Dot Cotton" and... and... look it was an ill-conceived idea from the start but I'm here now.) and the cardiovascular benefits? For instance, body-builders who like to tear up their muscles may be hurting their longevity.

The biggest question

[Errol backfiring]

Will my Healthcare insurance cover a healthy trip into space?

Tau Ceti 5

[sesshomaru]

"There was a garden grove on Cit-Cit-Citadel Station...."