The science of biology includes a lot of different sections, large and small child sciences. And each of them is important not only in human life, but for the planet as a whole.
For the second century in a row, people are trying to study not only the terrestrial diversity of life in all its manifestations, but also to find out if there is life outside the planet, in outer space. These issues are de alt with by a special science - space biology. It will be discussed in our review.
Biology Section - Space Biology
This science is relatively young, but very intensively developing. The main aspects of learning are:
- Factors of outer space and their influence on the organisms of living beings, the vital activity of all living systems in space or aircraft.
- The development of life on our planet with the participation of space, the evolution of living systems and the likelihood of the existence of biomass outside our planet.
- The possibilities of building closed systems and creating real living conditions in them for a comfortabledevelopment and growth of organisms in outer space.
Space medicine and biology are closely related sciences that jointly study the physiological state of living beings in space, their prevalence in interplanetary spaces and evolution.
Thanks to the research of these sciences, it became possible to select the optimal conditions for finding people in space, and without causing any harm to he alth. Huge material has been collected on the presence of life in space, the ability of plants and animals (single-celled, multicellular) to live and develop in weightlessness.
History of the development of science
The roots of space biology go back to ancient times, when philosophers and thinkers - natural scientists Aristotle, Heraclitus, Plato and others - watched the starry sky, trying to identify the relationship of the Moon and the Sun with the Earth, to understand the reasons for their influence on agricultural land and animals.
Later, in the Middle Ages, attempts began to determine the shape of the Earth and explain its rotation. For a long time, there was a theory created by Ptolemy. She talked about the fact that the Earth is the center of the Universe, and all other planets and celestial bodies move around it (geocentric system).
However, there was another scientist, the Pole Nicolaus Copernicus, who proved the fallacy of these statements and proposed his own, heliocentric system of the world structure: in the center is the Sun, and all the planets move around. The Sun is also a star. His views were supported by the followers of GiordanoBruno, Newton, Kepler, Galileo.
However, space biology as a science appeared much later. Only in the 20th century, the Russian scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky developed a system that allows people to penetrate into the depths of space and slowly study them. He is rightfully considered the father of this science. Also, discoveries in physics and astrophysics, quantum chemistry and mechanics by Einstein, Bohr, Planck, Landau, Fermi, Kapitza, Bogolyubov and others played a big role in the development of cosmobiology.
New scientific research, which allowed people to make long-planned flights into space, made it possible to identify specific medical and biological justifications for the safety and impact of extraterrestrial conditions that Tsiolkovsky formulated. What was their essence?
- Scientists have been given a theoretical justification for the effect of weightlessness on mammalian organisms.
- He modeled several variations of space conditions in the lab.
- Suggested options for astronauts to obtain food and water with the help of plants and the circulation of matter.
Thus, it was Tsiolkovsky who laid down all the basic postulates of astronautics, which have not lost their relevance today.
Weightlessness
Modern biological research in the field of studying the influence of dynamic factors on the human body in space allows astronauts to get rid of the negative influence of these same factors to the maximum.
There are three main dynamic characteristics:
- vibration;
- acceleration;
- weightlessness.
The most unusual and important effect on the human body is weightlessness. This is a state in which the force of gravity disappears and it is not replaced by other inertial influences. In this case, a person completely loses the ability to control the position of the body in space. Such a state begins already in the lower layers of space and persists throughout its space.
Medical and biological studies have shown that the following changes occur in the human body in a state of weightlessness:
- Heartbeat increases.
- Muscles relax (tonus goes away).
- Decreased performance.
- Possible spatial hallucinations.
A person in weightlessness is able to stay up to 86 days without harm to he alth. This has been proven empirically and confirmed from a medical point of view. However, one of the tasks of space biology and medicine today is to develop a set of measures to prevent the effect of weightlessness on the human body in general, eliminate fatigue, increase and consolidate normal performance.
There are a number of conditions that astronauts observe to overcome weightlessness and maintain control over the body:
- the design of the aircraft strictly complies with the necessary safety standards for passengers;
- astronauts are always carefully strapped into their seats in order to avoid unforeseen upward flights;
- all items on the ship are strictlyfixed place and secured properly to avoid injury;
- Liquids are stored only in closed, sealed containers.
In order to achieve good results in overcoming weightlessness, astronauts undergo thorough training on Earth. But, unfortunately, so far modern scientific research does not allow creating such conditions in the laboratory. On our planet, it is not possible to overcome the force of gravity. It is also one of the future challenges for space and medical biology.
G-forces in space (accelerations)
Another important factor affecting the human body in space is acceleration, or overload. The essence of these factors is reduced to an uneven redistribution of the load on the body during strong high-speed movements in space. There are two main types of acceleration:
- short-term;
- long.
As biomedical studies show, both accelerations are very important in influencing the physiological state of the astronaut's body.
So, for example, under the action of short-term accelerations (they last less than 1 second), irreversible changes can occur in the body at the molecular level. Also, if the organs are not trained, weak enough, there is a risk of rupture of their membranes. Such influences can be carried out during the separation of the capsule with the astronaut in space, during his ejectionor when landing a ship in orbits.
Therefore, it is very important that astronauts undergo a thorough medical examination and certain physical training before flying into space.
Long-acting acceleration occurs during launch and landing of a rocket, as well as during flight in some spatial places in space. The effect of such accelerations on the body, according to data provided by scientific medical research, is as follows:
- heartbeat and pulse quickens;
- breathing quickens;
- there is the occurrence of nausea and weakness, pale skin;
- vision suffers, a red or black film appears before the eyes;
- may feel pain in the joints, limbs;
- muscle tissue tone drops;
- neuromoral regulation changes;
- gas exchange in the lungs and in the body as a whole becomes different;
- may cause sweating.
G-forces and weightlessness force medical scientists to come up with different ways. allowing to adapt, train astronauts so that they can withstand the action of these factors without he alth consequences and without loss of efficiency.
One of the most effective ways to train astronauts to accelerate is the centrifuge apparatus. It is in it that you can observe all the changes that occur in the body under the action of overloads. It also allows you to train and adapt to the influence of this factor.
Space flight and medicine
Space flights certainly have a very big impact on the he alth of people, especially those who are untrained or have chronic diseases. Therefore, an important aspect is the medical research of all the subtleties of flight, all the reactions of the body to the most diverse and incredible effects of extraterrestrial forces.
Flying in weightlessness forces modern medicine and biology to invent and formulate (at the same time, implement, of course) a set of measures to provide astronauts with normal nutrition, rest, oxygen supply, maintaining working capacity, and so on.
In addition, medicine is designed to provide cosmonauts with decent assistance in case of unforeseen, emergency situations, as well as protection from the effects of unknown forces of other planets and spaces. It is quite difficult, it requires a lot of time and effort, a large theoretical base, the use of only the latest modern equipment and drugs.
In addition, medicine, along with physics and biology, has the task of protecting astronauts from the physical factors of space conditions, such as:
- temperature;
- radiation;
- pressure;
- meteorites.
Therefore, the study of all these factors and features is very important.
Research methods in biology
Space biology, like any other biological science, has a certain set of methods that allow conducting research, accumulating theoretical material and confirming it with practical conclusions. These methods over timeremain unchanged, are updated and modernized in accordance with the current time. However, the historically established methods of biology still remain relevant to this day. These include:
- Observation.
- Experiment.
- Historical analysis.
- Description.
- Comparison.
These methods of biological research are basic, relevant at any time. But there are a number of others that have arisen with the development of science and technology, electronic physics and molecular biology. They are called modern and play the greatest role in the study of all biological-chemical, medical and physiological processes.
Modern methods
- Methods of genetic engineering and bioinformatics. This includes agrobacterial and ballistic transformation, PCR (polymerase chain reactions). The role of biological research of this kind is great, since it is they that make it possible to find options for solving the problem of feeding and oxygenating rocket launchers and cabins for the comfort of astronauts.
- Methods of protein chemistry and histochemistry. Allow to control proteins and enzymes in living systems.
- Using fluorescence microscopy, super-resolution microscopy.
- The use of molecular biology and biochemistry and their research methods.
- Biotelemetry is a method that is the result of a combination of the work of engineers and physicians on a biological basis. It allows you to control all the physiologically important functions of the work.organism at a distance using radio communication channels of the human body and a computer recorder. Space biology uses this method as the basis for tracking the effects of space conditions on astronauts' organisms.
- Biological indication of interplanetary space. A very important method of space biology, which makes it possible to assess the interplanetary states of the environment, to obtain information about the characteristics of different planets. The basis here is the use of animals with built-in sensors. It is experimental animals (mice, dogs, monkeys) that extract information from orbits, which is used by terrestrial scientists for analysis and conclusions.
Modern methods of biological research make it possible to solve advanced problems not only of space biology, but also universal ones.
Problems of space biology
All the listed methods of biomedical research, unfortunately, have not yet been able to solve all the problems of space biology. There are a number of topical issues that remain urgent to this day. Let's take a look at the main challenges facing space medicine and biology.
- Selection of trained personnel for space flight, whose he alth condition could meet all the requirements of doctors (including allowing astronauts to withstand rigorous training and training for flights).
- Decent level of training and supply of everything necessary for working space crews.
- Ensuring safety in all respects (including from unknown or foreign factors of influencefrom other planets) working ships and aircraft structures.
- Psycho-physiological rehabilitation of astronauts upon return to Earth.
- Development of ways to protect astronauts and spacecraft from radiation.
- Ensuring normal living conditions in the cabins during space flights.
- Development and application of advanced computer technology in space medicine.
- Introduction of space telemedicine and biotechnology. Using the methods of these sciences.
- Solution of medical and biological problems for comfortable flights of astronauts to Mars and other planets.
- Synthesis of pharmacological agents that will solve the problem of oxygen supply in space.
Developed, improved and complex in application methods of biomedical research will surely solve all the tasks and existing problems. However, when this will be is a difficult and rather unpredictable question.
It should be noted that not only Russian scientists, but also the Academic Council of all countries of the world are dealing with all these issues. And this is a big plus. After all, joint research and searches will give a disproportionately greater and faster positive result. Close global cooperation in solving space problems is the key to success in the exploration of extraterrestrial space.
Modern achievements
There are many such achievements. After all, intensive work is carried out every day, thorough and painstaking, which allows you to find more and morematerials, draw conclusions and formulate hypotheses.
One of the most important discoveries of the 21st century in cosmology was the discovery of water on Mars. This immediately gave rise to dozens of hypotheses about the presence or absence of life on the planet, about the possibility of resettlement of earthlings to Mars, and so on.
Another discovery was that scientists have determined the age limits within which a person can be in space as comfortably and without serious consequences as possible. This age starts from 45 years and ends at about 55-60 years. Young people going into space suffer extremely psychologically and physiologically upon returning to Earth, adapting and rebuilding hard.
Water was also discovered on the Moon (2009). Mercury and a large amount of silver were also found on the Earth's satellite.
Biological research methods, as well as engineering and physical indicators, allow us to confidently conclude that the effects of ion radiation and exposure in space are harmless (at least not more harmful than on Earth).
Scientific studies have proven that long stay in space does not affect the physical he alth of astronauts. However, psychological problems remain.
Studies have been conducted proving that higher plants react differently to being in space. Seeds of some plants in the study did not show any genetic changes. Others, on the contrary, showed obvious deformations at the molecular level.
Experiences,conducted on the cells and tissues of living organisms (mammals) proved that space does not affect the normal state and functioning of these organs.
Various types of medical studies (tomography, MRI, blood and urine tests, cardiogram, computed tomography, and so on) led to the conclusion that the physiological, biochemical, morphological characteristics of human cells remain unchanged when staying in space up to 86 days.
In laboratory conditions, an artificial system was recreated that allows you to get as close as possible to the state of weightlessness and thus study all aspects of the effect of this state on the body. This, in turn, made it possible to develop a number of preventive measures to prevent the impact of this factor during a human flight in zero gravity.
The results of exobiology are data indicating the presence of organic systems outside the Earth's biosphere. So far, only the theoretical formulation of these assumptions has become possible, but soon scientists plan to obtain practical evidence as well.
Thanks to the research of biologists, physicists, doctors, ecologists and chemists, deep mechanisms of human impact on the biosphere have been revealed. This was made possible by creating artificial ecosystems off the planet and exerting the same influence on them as on Earth.
This is not all the achievements of space biology, cosmology and medicine today, but only the main ones. There is a lot of potential, the implementation of which isthe task of the listed sciences for the future.
Life in space
According to modern ideas, life in space can exist, as recent discoveries confirm the presence on some planets of suitable conditions for the emergence and development of life. However, the opinions of scholars on this issue fall into two categories:
- life is nowhere but Earth, never was and never will be;
- life exists in the vast expanses of outer space, but people have not yet discovered it.
Which of the hypotheses is correct - it is up to each individual to decide. There is enough evidence and refutation for both one and the other.
