Damian Miles Bailey

Absolutely! Studying human brain tissue post-mortem will allow our team to better understand mechanisms of hypoxia, ischaemia, and neuronal death (and rejuvenation!) in ways that animal models often cannot replicate. By mapping cellular vulnerability and resilience in real human neural networks, we may identify novel molecular targets for drugs that reduce infarct size, enhance collateral blood flow, or improve post-stroke recovery/dementia prophylaxis. This could open the door for interventions that combine neuroprotective pharmacology with rehabilitative strategies in related neurological diseases…and spaceflight!

During hibernation-like states, cerebral (and systemic) metabolic rate, immune function, and gastrointestinal activity are profoundly suppressed. These shifts can alter the gut microbiome’s composition and activity. A disturbed microbiome could increase intestinal permeability (i.e., “leaky gut”), leading to systemic neuro-oxidative-inflammatory-nitrosative stress via the gut-brain axis. Certain microbial metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, normally support neuronal health, whereas dysbiosis could promote neurotoxic metabolites or immune activation that damage neurons. In prolonged hibernation or spaceflight conditions, this raises concerns that maladaptive changes in gut flora could impair cognitive function, mood regulation, or neuroprotection — making microbiome monitoring and modulation an important countermeasure. Some of my colleagues are working on this, e.g. Karen Olsson-Francis and it’s a very hot and contemporary topic.

Yes, there has been a growing interest in “nutritional neuroscience” approaches to protect astronauts from cognitive decline and enhance neuroprotective resilience. Recent work suggests that omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, and ketogenic strategies may reduce neuroinflammation and support synaptic resilience. With respect to the microbiome, prebiotics (dietary fibers that promote beneficial bacterial growth) and probiotics (live beneficial microorganisms) are under investigation for their role in stress resilience, sleep regulation, and cognitive performance. Animal studies in simulated microgravity environments suggest that probiotics can reduce oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, while human trials are beginning to explore prebiotic-enriched diets for astronauts to maintain cognitive performance under isolation and stress. These strategies remain in early stages but represent promising adjuncts to traditional countermeasures like exercise. I’m targeting mitochondrial-specific reactice oxygen species/free radicals to explore these links, as you noted in my talk.

Great question and I loved this movie! The idea of Gattaca-style astronaut selection — based on genetic profiling — is no longer purely science fiction and quickly becoming science fact. While today’s astronaut corps is selected on physical, psychological, and professional performance, advances in genomics are raising the possibility of screening for traits that predict resilience to for example, radiation, hypoxia, circadian disruption, or even susceptibility to neurodegeneration. However, such selection raises profound ethical issues about genetic determinism, equity, and diversity as I mentioned. More likely than wholesale genetic filtering is the integration of genomic information into ‘personalised’ countermeasures — for example, tailoring diet, exercise, or pharmacological protection based on an astronaut’s underlying genetic profile. In this sense, the future may be “precision space medicine” rather than rigid Gattaca-like exclusion. Homo Galacticus is a possibility given recent advances in this filed (e.g., CRISPR)…