UCF’s Michal Masternak and his team have identified molecular changes in the liver that happen when space travelers experience radiation and microgravity. These changes—that resemble accelerated aging—provide new insight into how prolonged space missions may increase health risks for astronauts and reveal potential targets for therapies that could combat age-related diseases on Earth. The work is published in the journal GeroScience.

“We focused on the liver because it is one of the major metabolic organs in our body,” says Masternak, a professor of medicine and leader of the College of Medicine’s aging and space medicine research efforts. “What we found was that just 24 hours after radiation exposure, there are many genetic changes in the liver that are remarkably similar to what happens during aging. We can assume that if someone were in space much longer, the damage could be much greater.”