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Astronauts experience 'space anemia' when they go into space

18/01/2022

Astronauts experience 'space anemia' when they go into space

The impact of space travel on the human body has always been thought to be significant. But now a new study reveals just how hard it hits an astronaut's red blood cells. 


On Earth, our bodies make and destroy around 2 million red blood cells every second. However, in space, the number of red blood cells destroyed rises to 3 million per second, according to a new study, resulting in a loss of 54% more cells than people on Earth experience. This lower red blood cell phenomenon is known as space anemia and it was previously only thought to last for the first 10 days in space.


But the University of Ottawa research shows that space anemia actually lasts for the full duration of the astronaut's mission and their red blood cell levels only return to normal between three to four months after their return to Earth.


"Space anemia has consistently been reported when astronauts returned to Earth since the first space missions, but we didn't know why," said study author Dr. Guy Trudel, a rehabilitation physician and researcher at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa, in a statement.


The findings of the study are published in the journal Nature Medicine.


Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

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