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Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin.
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One thing I love about my human friends is that you come from all over this beautiful
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Earth.
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But what if one of my future friends was born beyond Earth?
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What would it be like to be born in space?
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Well, obviously being born in space would grant you powers like heat vision, super speed,
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super strength, and give you an affinity for journalism.
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Oh wait, sorry, I was just thinking of my buddy Kara.
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Fictional fantasies aside, being born in space or someplace other than Earth might be a little
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harder than you might think.
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This is in part due to gravity.
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One recent study from the University of Montreal found that the reproductive process of plants
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was affected by changes in gravity.
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They found that both hypergravity and simulated microgravity had an effect.
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While the reproductive systems of plants are obviously different than a human’s, this
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can still give us some insight to how a human’s reproductive system might be affected under
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different gravitational conditions.
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However, the recent Space Pup experiment seems to give a more positive light on the possibility
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of humans being born in space.
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Space Pup sounds like the most adorable superhero ever, but it’s actually a study of what
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being on the International Space Station would do to freeze-dried mouse sperm.
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Although some slight DNA damage occurred, being on the ISS did not impair the birth
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rate or the normality of the offspring that came from the sperm.
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Still, mice are not the same as humans, but this study leaves me a bit more optimistic
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on the thought of human babies being born in space.
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Overall, it seems to be a little unclear one way or the other on how feasible it is to
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be born in space, but if we make the assumption that is indeed feasible, just what might a
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little stellar tike be like?
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Since the only places humans have been other than Earth is the Moon and our spacecrafts,
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it makes the most sense to look there as potential new birthplaces.
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If someone was born on a place like the International Space Station, that baby might develop problems
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with muscle mass, bone density, and even cardiovascular health.
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Astronauts on the ISS typically exercise around 2 hours or more every day to counteract the
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effects of weightlessness on the human body.
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Without doing so, they’d be more likely to develop the problems mentioned earlier.
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While adult astronauts can be proactive by exercising, I don’t think a baby will be
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able to hit the gym as soon as they're born.
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Come on, chug that protein shake!
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Also, if a baby was born on the ISS, or maybe a space installation on the moon, there is
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a good chance that they would develop behavioral issues.
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NASA has learned that it’s basically inevitable for behavioral issues to occur among groups
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of people crammed in a small space over a long time, so unless our little friend is
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given more hospitable conditions than our astronauts are used to, they’d probably
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develop some problems.
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These could include a decline in mood, cognition, or interpersonal interaction.
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One recent finding that could prove interesting for a space-born baby comes from NASA’s
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Twin Study.
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This study looks as what nearly a year in space would do to astronaut Scott Kelly, compared
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to his twin brother, Mark, who remained on Earth.
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They found that Scott’s telomeres on the ends of his white blood cell chromosomes increased
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in length while in space.
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They reported that it could be linked to increased exercise and reduced caloric intake, but it
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would be pretty amazing if it turns out it was because of his time in space.
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We’ve explored in the past how shortening telomeres seem to be related to aging, so
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this could potentially be some big news!
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So what do you think?
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Will humanity soon have a baby born in space?
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Let me know in the comments below!
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Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand new video.
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As always, I’m Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.
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Don’t forget to keep on thinking!
