Astronauts in space lose significant bone and muscle mass because of exposure to zero gravity, scientists said Wednesday.

Dr. Per Tesch, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, spoke at a seminar Wednesday night in the Hagner Auditorium in the Bright Complex about the associated problems of muscle and bone response to space flight.

The seminar was hosted by the Department of Health and Kinesiology and also featured NASA astronaut Richard Linnehan and professors who have studied space travel.

Tesch said results from a study conducted on muscle atrophy in space over a 17-day period showed a constant drop in muscle mass at the rate of 2 percent loss per week. Results indicated that women are generally more susceptible to muscle loss in space than men, though both genders are substantially affected.

Potential countermeasures to muscle atrophy may include electrical muscle stimulation, steroids and mainly exercise, Tesch said.

"While weight lifting is the initial approach, weights cannot be used in outer space, due to gravity," Tesch said, "Therefore, equipment has been developed that allows for resistance exercise onboard the spacecraft."

Space travel has also been shown to have an adverse effect on bone mineral density, said Susan Bloomfield, associate professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. Bloomfield said the average loss in bone mineral density is 1 percent every month.

"To put this in context, the rate of bone loss in space is roughly ten times that of post menopausal women," she said.

The most probable cause of accelerated bone loss is the shift in body fluid at zero gravity, resulting in decreased blood flow and reduction of nutrients to the bone, Bloomfield said.

"The clear focus for biological research is the testing on and development of pharmacological agents to stimulate bone formation and allow for rapid bone recovery," Bloomfield said.

Bloomfield said research institutions from around the country are working to obtain this goal.

Linnehan also discussed the importance of the Hubble Space Telescope, calling it NASA's most important project.

"In terms of the vast amount of data and research obtained from various projects, nothing else compares to the Hubble," he said.

Data collected from the telescope has lead to numerous discoveries about fundamental concepts of the universe and how elements in space interact with one another, Linnehan said.

"For instance, data collected from the Hubble has allowed us to estimate that the earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old," he said.

Projected goals for the NASA program include the completion of the space station within 16 more shuttle flights, and upgrading the Hubble Telescope in an effort to keep it functional for at least another 10 years, Linnehan said.

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