Giving your body to science while staying in bed is now possible! Published on September 8 on the website of the Institute of Medicine and Space Physiology of Toulouse (MEDES), this funny announcement has however all that is more serious.
A contribution to future space missions
MEDES researchers, always looking for new solutions to keep astronauts in shape as long as possible during their missions, want to study the effects of weightlessness (weightlessness) on real human “guinea pigs”.
Their objective ? Observing the body’s adaptation mechanisms in microgravity conditions as well as measuring the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of a food supplement specially designed for this type of situation. But if at first sight, the offer, remunerated up to 16,000 euros, seems attractive, the constraints it imposes on candidates are restrictive to say the least.
Very difficult conditions
During the two months of the study, the twenty volunteers chosen for the occasion will have to lie on a bed and undergo a battery of tests every day, ranging from blood sampling to muscle biopsy. Their heads will be tilted 6 degrees less than their feet to best replicate what astronauts experience in space. They will not be able to get up at any time, even to eat or go to the toilet. In addition, participants will not be allowed to receive visits from their relatives.
However, volunteers must be in very good physical health in addition to a number of very specific criteria. Thus, MEDES indicates that only men aged between 20 and 45, in perfect health, non-smokers, athletic, with a BMI of between 22 and 27 and having no allergies or dietary restrictions can apply for this study. A psychological examination will also be submitted to the participants in order to eliminate the most fragile candidates.
The organism put to the test of weightlessness
After a more or less long stay in space, where gravity is almost non-existent, all astronauts experience a certain degree of loss of muscle volume. Indeed, in space, their muscles no longer had to support the weight of the body. Their size, their physical resistance, as well as their stamina are quickly diminished, which leads to significant muscle fatigue at the slightest stress.
Similarly, the circulatory system also undergoes disturbances. Indeed, the heart and blood vessels are subject to premature aging, which usually leads to a decrease in cardiac volume and an increase in blood pressure in astronauts.
But Marie-Pierre Bareille, in charge of the study, wants to be reassuring: “when an organism is placed in conditions that reproduce gravity, we inevitably observe physiological changes at the cardiovascular, muscular and bone levels. The muscles melt and certain bone markers move from the first 24 hours. But we never reach the stage of osteoporosis”
How to apply?
16 teams of scientists from all over the world will take care of a total of forty candidates, separated into two sessions, a first from January to April 2017, and a second from September to December 2017. In addition, each volunteer will receive follow-up doctor one month after the end of the study, then one and two years later, in order to ensure a good recovery.
If you meet all the criteria and you feel brave enough to try the experience, you can now contact the clinic on 05 62 17 49 65 or complete the registration form on the MEDES website. You will have been warned…
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