November 13, 2024 • 43 mins
Can humans thrive in space? Or is Elon Musk's idea of humans as spacefaring civilization a doomed endeavour? I present a summary of the Guy Foundation's recent report on Spaceflight and human health, accelerated ageing and mitochondrial dysfunction in space, and what this might mean for health and chronic disease here on planet earth.
Read the full report here - https://www.theguyfoundation.org/space-health/
LEARN about Light & Health with me....
🎤 Ask me Anything live in my Private Skool Community group - weekly Q&A, free download ofmy 52-page eBook & bunch of PDF resources. https://www.skool.com/dr-maxs-circadian-reset
📚 Learn how to improve your health with Sunlight & Circadian rhythms
SOLAR CALLUS Course - https://www.drmaxgulhane.com/store
SUPPORT my work by purchasing from the following links:
🥩 WOLKI FARM. Highest quality fully grassfed & pastured pork, beef, lamb & eggs raised with holistic principles and shipped around Australia. Code DRMAX for 10% off https://wolkifarm.com.au/DRMAX
🚨 BON CHARGE. Blue blockers, EMF laptop pads, circadian friendly lighting, and more. Code DRMAX for 15% off. https://boncharge.com/?rfsn=7170569.687e6d
🚨 CHROMA. Advanced photobiomodulation devices including D-light (Vitamin D-generating) & Lux vital with OPN3-5 stimulation, cold pillow for the ultimate night's sleep. Use code DRMAX for 11% off. https://getchroma.co/?ref=i6p39fn0
🚨 MIDWEST RED LIGHT THERAPY. Blue blockers, photobiomodulation devices, shipping to USA. Code DRMAX for 10% off https://midwestredlighttherapy.com/affiliate/DRMAX/
🚨 RA OPTICS. High quality Blue Light Blockers. Code DRMAX for 15% off. https://raoptics.com/discount/DRMAX?rfsn=8348105.d066b7aÂ
Follow DR MAX
Website: https://drmaxgulhane.com/
Private Group: https://www.skool.com/dr-maxs-circadian-reset
Courses: https://drmaxgulhane.com/collections/courses
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxGulhaneMD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_max_gulhane/
Apple Podcasts:Â https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1661751206
Spotify:Â https://open.spotify.com/show/6edRmG3IFafTYnwQiJjhwR
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/maxgulhanemd
DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast is purely for informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast or YouTube channel. Do not make medication changes without first consulting your treating clinician.
#quantumbiology #space #spacex #spacetravel #mitochondria
BYRON HINTERLAND RETREAT - Circadian Living by Regenerative Health Retreats
Join us July 17-20, 2024 in Byron Bay Hinterland, Northern NSW.
Only 6 tickets remaining. Secure yours here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode I am going to be giving my analysis
of what I think is afundamentally groundbreaking
publication by the GuyFoundation, and the title of
this report is the HealthHazards of Space Travel.
So what is this report and whyis it important?
(00:22):
Well, the subtitle is NovelInsights from Quantum Biology,
and what the purpose of thisreport is is to essentially
analyze, from a quantumbiological perspective, the
challenges or difficulties thathumans will have in space or
(00:46):
trying to colonise space.
And the reason that they wrotethis is because we have so many
movements from Elon Musk andothers in interest in space
travel and space colonisation.
So in the beginning of thereport, the guy foundation noted
that um quantum biology studiespoint to the damaging effects
(01:09):
of the space environment onmitochondria and the electron
transport chain.
The other reason why it's, Ithink, very important to um
understand the points raised inthis report is because what we
are doing uh in on earth is isfundamentally a game of
optimising our mitochondrialcolony, and through the quantum
(01:31):
biological lens we can learnsome very valuable points.
The report's principalconclusion is that humans
venturing into space may facemore serious health hazards than
previously thought.
May face more serious healthhazards than previously thought.
If confirmed by research, thiswill call into question the
viability of human explorationin deep space.
Not what Elon wants to hear,but let's look what the science
(01:55):
says.
So, really briefly, who are theGuy Foundation?
So they're formed by a formerpharmaceutical executive,
medical doctor, philanthropist,professor Jeffrey Guy, from the
UK, and after being involved inthe pharmaceutical cannabis
(02:17):
industry, professor Guy has leftthat and basically repurposed
or set up this foundation withthe proceeds partial proceeds to
essentially dedicate to advancethe medicine via studying
quantum biology.
And what they seem to have doneso far is really get together
(02:41):
these world-leading researcherson mitochondria, on quantum
biology, and have put themtogether to answer these really
big questions of how can weharness these quantum biological
effects for advancing humanhealth.
So from my perspective, I wantedto answer the question about
(03:06):
why quantum biology is importantand what I've written here is
that the quantum biologicaleffects are occurring in the
human body and they influenceand dictate the efficiency of
the mitochondrial electrontransport chain and therefore
mitochondrial function.
And, as I alluded to brieflybefore, is that health, disease,
(03:27):
chronic disease, essentiallyboils down to how optimized or
um unoptimized, yourmitochondria are and disease,
when it shows up, chronicdisease essentially is the end
stage breakdown or inefficiencyof mitochondria in in that organ
(03:50):
and whether that presents asneurodegenerative disease, like
alzheimer's or parkinson'sdisease, or it's and manifests
in the heart, like heart failure, or in the pancreas diabetes,
or the kidneys, like chronickidney disease.
So this is important stuff.
(04:12):
So preserving mitochondrialefficiency is how we maximize
our health span.
The biochemistry and thefood-based paradigm of health
optimization is essentiallyinsufficient.
It's insufficient to addressthese fundamental biological
(04:32):
questions.
It is not enough essentially toreally it's not the basis.
So that's why we need to godeeper.
We need to start lookingthrough a quantum biological
lens, go deeper, we need tostart looking uh at the through
a quantum biological lens.
Space flight provides uh,basically, and this in extremis
study case for investigatinghuman disease on on planet earth
(04:53):
and this will make more senseby the time I get to the end but
essentially, what is going on?
But to our astronauts in theiss and by studying them and
seeing how they're falling sickand exactly how, that is deeply
informative to what's happeninghere on Earth.
(05:15):
So they have an amazingdefinition in this report and
it's one of optimal health, andthey say that optimal health is
a phenotype that maximizeshealth span and fitness while
demonstrating morbiditycompression in relation to its
species' maximum lifespan.
And that is a very, verysuccinct definition of what
(05:40):
optimal health is, of whatoptimal health is.
And in effect, they state theorganism is healthy for most of
its life, remaining fit,functional and robust, with
little evidence of disease forits age, until very close to its
time of death.
So think about someone youmight know, someone in your life
, who lived to the ripe old ageof 96 and was still driving up
(06:04):
until their 95th birthday andthen had a massive heart attack,
died very suddenly and was gameover.
So really that is what we'retalking about here and really
you can contrast that to what isoccurring in today's day and
age, where people are fallingsick and ill, with chronic
(06:26):
diseases perhaps starting intheir late 40s, 40s, 50s, and
having two, three decades ofillness and incapacity and
morbidity prior to dying, and inthat time period they're
customers of thispharmaceutical-based system.
So how have they framed thisconcept?
(06:48):
And I really love this graphthat they've presented, which is
this idea of an acceleratedaging phenotype, and what that
translates to is, essentially,when you're going up into space,
you're just demonstrating theeffects of essentially
accelerated aging, and thesecurves suggest that, in an ideal
(07:14):
situation that we would have,as we just defined before, close
to maximum as possible optimalhealth and then that perhaps
cuts off more sharply close tothe maximum lifespan.
But what is possibly happeninghere is that when we're in space
(07:38):
, then that is potentiallyreducing our life expectancy and
, through these, acceleratedaging phenotype, which, as we
mentioned, is related to poormitochondrial health.
So what this looks like wedon't know, but that is a
graphical way of understandingor considering what is happening
(08:00):
when humans are outside oftheir biologically evolved niche
and what that's going, orconsidering what is happening
when humans are outside of theirbiologically evolved niche and
what that's going to potentiallybe doing to maximum lifespan,
but also life expectancy andhealth span.
So accelerated aging when youhear that you should, it should
(08:22):
trigger you to think aboutmitochondrial dysfunction, and
they state in this in the report, that space-induced accelerated
aging phenotype appears to beassociated with the disruption
of cellular bioenergetics againsomething that I've been talking
about for well over a year andthat Jack Cruz first talked to
me in when we did our podcastseries together.
(08:45):
So keep, keep that in mind.
So what are the space exposuresassociated with mitochondrial
dysfunction?
Well, there we're going to gothrough each of them in turn.
They're zero gravity and theloss of tensegrity, radiation
exposures, the loss ofnear-infrared radiation, the
loss of circadian environmentalcues and the loss of a magnetic
(09:08):
field.
So let's start with Tensegrityand zero gravity.
And so what is Tensegrity?
It's an architectural approachin which structures are
stabilized by continuous tension.
Don Ingber put forward the ideathat cells use a form of
tensegrity some 20 years ago,proposing that microfilaments
(09:28):
and intermediate filaments beartensional forces which are
balanced by microtubules andfocal adhesions.
And that's from a 2003 articleon tensegrity and systems
biology.
So what effect are we reallylooking at as it relates to
space and existing in space?
(09:49):
So this diagram shows whatthey're meaning by the
mechanical forces of tensegrityand how it is key in terms of
maintaining the structure of thecell.
And I'll read out the diagramshows the different mechanical
forces of tension andcompression in different
(10:11):
materials.
In biological materials, theextracellular matrix and the
microtubules, for example, wouldbe involved in maintaining
tensegrity.
It is likely that life,especially complex life, is
reliant on this form for optimalfunction.
So you can just imagine thatwhen you're in zero gravity and
if you think about what theInternational Space Station is,
(10:34):
they're in continuous freefall.
That is what they're doing asit orbits Earth.
They're doing as it orbitsEarth.
So the loss of gravity isfundamentally a completely
different situation to when howwe evolved, and that is going to
be a very difficult one toovercome in space.
So what did they conclude?
(10:55):
It is likely that reduced and,in particular, zero gravity
removes the stimulus to maintainhealthy mitochondria and
cellular structural integrity,thereby decreasing metabolic
adaptability and increasingoxidative stress.
So pretty straightforward.
So now um, the second thatthey've talked about is uh,
(11:18):
radiation exposures, and, tobriefly get a little bit
technical, there's two roughlydistinctions that they make in
the report with regard to theradiation exposure in space, and
we're talking about linearenergy transfer, transfer, let
radiation, and the distinctionand the distinction, as made in
(11:43):
the report, is between highlinear energy transfer radiation
and low linear energy transferradiation.
So this high LED radiation ischarged particles emitted by the
sun, so things like helium,nuclei, protons and neutrons.
So these are essentially heavyparticles and they get emitted
(12:08):
during things like solar wind.
Thankfully, because of theEarth's magnetic field, they're
essentially deflected by Earth'smagnetism and therefore we're
protected from them.
This is contrasting to low-LEDradiation, which are photons and
high-energy photons,particularly gamma and X-rays
(12:30):
and they are actually absorbedby the Earth's atmosphere.
So we are protected by theatmosphere from that type of
radiation.
So why are they an issue?
Well, because they cause DNAstrand breaks, oxidative stress
and most importantlyspecifically, as it relates to
this space exposure, is thatthey're not intermittent
(12:54):
stresses.
They are continuous stresses.
And as we'll talk about alittle bit later is that humans
have an evolved ability to dealwith hormetic exposures which
provoke or allow the human bodyto adapt and respond.
But if they are continuous,then that is extremely difficult
(13:16):
or impossible for the body toform any form of adaptation
possible, for the body to formany form of adaptation.
Here is a visible depiction ofwhat's going on and that is the
magnetosphere protecting againstthis high LED radiation being
emitted from the sun andcontrasting how the atmosphere
(13:41):
allows the penetration ofdifferent wavelengths of photons
of electromagnetic energy,obviously allowing all the
visible light to get through,allowing infrared to get through
, but blocking gamma rays,blocking X-rays, allowing a
little bit of ultraviolet lightto get through and again, that's
(14:03):
going to depend on the sunangle in the sky and obviously
season and time of day, and thenletting things like the longer,
like radio waves, kind ofgetting through.
So that's just a visible,visible depiction, and so what?
So what's next?
What have they said about that?
(14:25):
Increased radiation inducesdamage in all cellular
compartments, resulting inincreased oxidative stress.
This is especially the casewith high linear energy transfer
.
Oxidative stress will compoundany direct DNA damage and
further reduce the capacity torepair and maintain DNA.
And what is an immediatedownstream consequence of DNA
(14:51):
damage?
And that is going to be cancermalignancy.
So, lack of near-infraredradiation and this is something
that I've talked at length about, but for those who are perhaps
(15:20):
listening to, this includes um,shorter wavelength light, which
again is ultraviolet uh.
Depending on those um the sunangle, it's visible and then
it's uh, it's infrared.
And what uh is occurring isthat the actual majority of
light photons, not by energy butby photon count, is in this
(15:41):
near-infrared range, from 750nanometres out to beyond 2,500.
And it has been not recogniseduntil very recently that this
infrared radiation is highlybiologically active and highly
(16:03):
irrelevant and important for thefunction of human cells,
specifically mitochondria.
So whereas, say, for example,plants in the process of
photosynthesis use mostly redand blue light and reflect green
, and that's why they'reperceived by our eyes as green,
(16:24):
they actually also reflect awhole bunch of this
near-infrared light and that iswhy if you use near-infrared
photography, then you basicallysee the things like trees lit up
, because they're reallyreflecting all of this light.
So the purpose of this slide isto illustrate that near
(16:44):
infrared radiation is afundamental white nutrient that
your cells need and thatbiological systems, from humans
down to fungi, have essentiallyevolved to make use of, and they
don't waste any biologicalsystems aren't wasting anything,
and that's because evolutionhas made them supremely
(17:08):
efficient to make use of all theenergy in their environment.
So a lack of near infraredradiation is something that is
obviously happening in space andin the space station.
Here's a visual depiction ofwhat's actually occurring.
Is that, amongst otherfunctions, which include
(17:28):
structuring the water inside thecells, which is occurring more
at longer wavelengths ofinfrared light, in shorter, the
near-infrared is stimulating theproduction of this antioxidant
hormone, melatonin, on site, andmelatonin is the oldest
evolutionary conserved and mosteffective antioxidant system and
(17:52):
it basically is able to have acascading antioxidant effect,
meaning its metabolites arethemselves antioxidants and it
is extremely powerful in moppingup the oxidative stress that's
occurring as a result of normalcellular mitochondrial
physiology and prior to its useas a hormonal signal of darkness
(18:16):
and nighttime in ourcirculatory system.
It was being used byprokaryotic organisms to
essentially cool the engines, todampen down oxidative stress
and reduce the mutation rate.
Essentially, that can occur inthe cells, prokaryotes or
(18:40):
mitochondria that don't have DNAprotected by nucleus.
So how has this been conceived?
Well, professor Bob Fosbury,who's the emeritus astronomer at
the European SouthernObservatory, he's described this
as 21st century scurvy, meaningthat if you don't have
(19:02):
near-infrared radiation, you'llhave this slow, progressive
reduction in mitochondrialefficiency, which is analogous,
akin to what occurred to sailorsduring long sea voyages.
So how can we think of?
(19:23):
And that was obviouslyoccurring due to a deficiency of
vitamin C, but how else can wethink about this?
This paper gives us a good ideaabout the role of near-infrared
and perhaps its benefit, whichis that near-infrared and red
light therapy as a potentialcountermeasure for mitochondrial
dysfunction in space flightedassociated neuroocular syndrome.
(19:43):
So, um, that syndrome is a?
Um potential occurrence forastronauts when they go into
space and the the pathology orthe pathophysiology of that
condition is related tomitochondrial dysfunction.
And what um this paper isproposing is that when we're
(20:04):
using photobiomodulation, whichis continuing to increase in its
evidence base, as a therapeutictool, then this could
potentially be a process, a toolby which we reverse or prevent
this consequence of spaceflight,and the mechanisms include
(20:26):
direct absorption by theelectron transport chain
compounds like cytochrome Coxidase to boost mitochondrial
function and have these increasein these cellular repair
metabolism effects.
So the next point that theytalk about in the report is a
(20:50):
loss of circadian environmentalcues, and this slide is to
illustrate that.
The physiology, the wiringdiagram of circadian biology as
it's human circadian biology,and the fundamental point to
understand is that the entire ofthe body's physiology is
(21:11):
orchestrated along an internaltiming mechanism which is
requiring inputting, updatingfrom environmental cues,
particularly light, and thoseexternal light signals help to
optimise essentially the runningof these biological processes,
(21:36):
from hormonal outputs tosleep-wake cycle, behaviour,
food-seeking behavior,reproduction, and then obviously
things like metabolism,reproduction, immune function.
They're all regulated along a24-hour cycle and the use of
natural sunlight as this primaryzeitgeber or input into
(22:00):
circadian entrainment can't beoverstated and what we are using
as mammals, as homo sapiens,has been built on biologically
like a pyramid, essentially on3.4 billion years of evolution
in which the full-spectrumnatural sunlight was the key
(22:26):
circadian entrainer and simplyremoving that or replacing that
with artificial light is notsomething that can be adapted to
overnight.
So what's the problem here?
Well, the problem is usingthese cool white LEDs that are
deficient in longer wavelengthred and infrared light, with a
massive spike in the blue range,and expecting that we're going
(22:51):
to get the same biologicaloutcome.
Well, we're not, and the reasonwe're not is because that
spectrum looks nothing like fullspectrum sunlight, which has
always a commensurate balance ofblue with red and infrared.
And this really possibly I wouldsuggest we could, rather than
(23:14):
saying the loss of circadianenvironmental cues, I would
actually say this is severedisruption of circadian
environmental cues, becausethere's plenty of blue light and
I didn't mention before butit's the actual blue wavelengths
that are most impactful interms of circadian entrainment
through the eyes, because it'sthe melanopsin-containing,
intrinsically photosensitiveretinal ganglion cells that are
(23:35):
most responsive to the presenceor absence of blue light in the
environment to entrain thecircadian rhythm.
So it's actually, you know,there's abundance of blue light
in the space environment, butthe problem here is that it's
not balanced and it'sessentially continuous and it's
(23:56):
not in the ancestrally evolvedform, which was extremely
contextual, as we would have hadnatural blue light through from
the sun.
And here's simply anotherdiagram, more detailed, which
shows that it's the perceptionof this blue light in the eye
(24:17):
and that is entraining thecircadian rhythm, feeding into
the hypothalamus, thesuprachiasmatic nucleus, and
then sending down a signal uh,via the um.
Uh, but via the I believe it'sa super superior cervical um
(24:39):
ganglion, to to turn offmelatonin.
So that is, and obviously it'sgiving out other signals to do
with mood regulation at an areacalled the her nucleus and to
mediate the capillary lightreflex at all, the very
(24:59):
pre-tectal nucleus.
So how did they summarize theselight exposures in the report?
Well, they said that a lack ofnear-infrared radiation due to
artificial blue-shiftedLED-based lighting may result in
increased cellular stress.
And the loss of circadianenvironmental cues that underpin
an organism's biologicalrhythms results in cellular
(25:21):
stress, further challenging analready metabolically
compromised system.
So keep that in mind, becausethat we're going to talk about
that more as it relates tonon-space environments.
So what else did I talk about?
So, loss of magnetic field, andthis is a fascinating area of
(25:41):
quantum biology, which is theuse of magnetism and its effect
on biology.
And this diagram here says itshows a radical pair comprising
two electrons in the Earth'smagnetic field.
The Earth has a static magneticfield with a north and south
pole.
The chemical outcomes ofradical pair reactions are
sensitive to external magneticfields due to the interacting
(26:04):
spins of the electrons and,going all the way back in terms
of the history of quantumbiology and this ability of the
European robin to essentiallysense magnetic fields and
therefore use it to navigate,this is related to this
interaction of electrons andfree radicals.
(26:26):
So what do they say in thereport?
In this sense, the Earth'smagnetic field interacts
directly with biological systems.
Rather than merely screeningthem from radiation, it does
this by changing the spin statesof molecules and the chemistry
that depends on these spinstates.
Biological systems have evolvedtheir chemical reactions within
the Earth's specific fields andare clearly affected by changes
(26:50):
in the field strength bothabove and critically below.
This means that travel todestinations that have no
magnetic field, for example theMoon or Mars, could have
fundamental effects on thechemistry integral to life.
A further aspect is that it'sbecoming apparent that circadian
shifts in the Earth's magneticfield also appear to be a
zeitgeber and likely interactwith the classical light-driven
(27:12):
cryptochromes also involved inmagnetic sensitivity.
In short, a hypomagnetic fieldcould interfere with circadian
rhythms.
The key message is that not onlyare static electrical fields
important in biology, butthrough the property of spin, it
would seem.
So are static magnetic fields,both endogenous and exogenous.
(27:35):
Much like the suggestednear-infrared starvation idea,
astronauts could also sufferfrom magnetic starvation,
suggesting that for optimalhealth the Earth's magnetic
field may need to be reproducedin some way in a spacecraft.
And finally, the lack ofmagnetic field, they summarised,
could increase oxidative stressby altering quantum spin-based
(27:57):
homeostasis, putting more stresson cells.
So if we go back to this ideaof an accelerated aging
phenotype that is occurring inastronauts, then we remember
that it's all a manifestation ofmitochondrial dysfunction and
the space exposures that areassociated with this are zero
(28:18):
gravity, the loss of tensegrity,radiation exposures, the loss
of near-infrared radiation, theloss of circadian or the
disruption of circadianenvironmental cues and the loss
of a magnetic field.
So this diagram titled themitochondrial canary in the
metabolic coal mine summarizesthis graphically about
(28:39):
potentially what is occurring.
And at the center of thisdiagram of a mitochondrion are
changes in electron transportchain and all the different
potential inputs andconsequences of that.
To do with these inputs,gravity, radiation, light
(29:00):
spectra, circadian rhythm,magnetic fields, pressure and
oxygen, and that's all going toinfluence, obviously the output.
So how the mitochondriaeventually regulate the nuclear
genome and how mitochondrialphysiology dictates the cell
fate, because they can be thetrigger to send that cell into
(29:24):
programmed cell death.
Potentially so.
And yeah, it's fundamental whatis going on to the
mitochondrion, because that isgoing to influence the whole
body's physiology.
So what have they said in termsof summarising this fascinating
research?
As discussed, it is possiblethat astronauts could be
(29:46):
developing an accelerated agingphenotype.
The breadth of negativephysiological effects that
result from being exposed tospace environments and I've
abbreviated here includemusculoskeletal, cardiovascular
and pulmonary changes, as wellas ocular problems and
neurological effects.
The immune system experiencesprofound alterations, with
(30:06):
latent viruses reactivated.
There are also changes inmetabolism likely associated
with mitochondrial dysfunctionand the development of insulin
resistance and pre-diabetes.
The emphasis is mine.
Note that we haven't talkedabout food at all.
We're talking about the contextin which mitochondria are
(30:29):
existing and how issues orenvironmental changes that are
so key to mitochondrial functionwhen they're perturbed or
disturbed, and then metabolicdisease like insulin resistance
and prediabetes is a downstreamconsequence.
(30:49):
So, beyond humans evolved niche,this graph here illustrates how
on earth these normalenvironmental factors they fine
tune for optimal health, andthose are things like gravity,
the light spectrum, circadianrhythms, magnetic fields and
radiation, and essentially,metabolism has evolved to
(31:09):
essentially be stimulated andbenefit from in a really
hormetical, beneficial way andfrom those exposures on planet,
planet earth.
But being in space, the, as wetalked about, the lack of
gravity, gravity, the alteredlight spectrum, the completely
disrupted circadian rhythms, thelack of magnetic field and all
(31:31):
that radiation that's perhapscontinuous.
This is a situation wherehumans have not evolved and
we're really going beyond whatis known as our metabolic
envelope when we're in space andthere's no hormetic response.
Our metabolic envelope whenwe're in space and there's no
hormetic response.
So they've subtitled orcommented that going into space
(31:55):
puts astronauts beyond theirevolved, adaptive metabolic
envelope.
Some factors are required foroptimal function, such as
gravity, a magnetic field,near-infrared light and
circadian zeitgeist, or othersdirectly cause oxidative stress
and damage, such as low andespecially high linear energy
transfer.
The result is inflammation andpotentially an accelerated aging
phenotype due to disruptedelectron flow, which is not
(32:18):
immediately lethal but mayincrease the risk of morbidity.
Some are almost instantlylethal, such as a vacuum or
excessive temperatures.
Some are almost instantlylethal, such as a vacuum or
excessive temperatures.
So what are the findings?
I'm going to read them out.
The report's principal findingis that space travel seems
likely to induce the acceleratedaging in astronauts, and this
accelerated aging phenotypeneeds to be investigated and
(32:40):
explained as a matter of urgency, of urgency.
Furthermore, the reporthighlights that this
space-induced accelerated agingphenotype appears to be
associated with the disruptionof cellular bioenergetics, which
could have other, perhaps moreworrying, health consequences.
The only way humans may live inoptimal health in space is by
(33:01):
reproducing Earth's environmentexactly, and I think that's
self-evident when we considerhow much of a Goldilocks zone,
so to speak, earth is and howfinely tuned evolution has
designed us, physiologically andfrom a mitochondrial point of
(33:22):
view, to these specificsituations or environments on
planet Earth.
So here's another way ofthinking about it Look at the
nighttime and daytime as someonemight expose themselves or be
experienced on the InternationalSpace Station or perhaps on a
spaceship to Mars, and thatdifference, that daytime and
(33:45):
nighttime, even from a purelycircadian rhythm point of view,
is looking nothing like daytimeand nighttime in our ancestral
human experience, and what isoccurring in, across, or what a
normal day is on planet Earth,and those, as it relates to
(34:05):
those environmental exposuresthat we discussed, you know it
couldn't be further removed whenwe're in space.
So what does this mean?
What does this mean for spacetravel and, you know, recently,
elon Musk's incredibleachievement of landing the
booster, the spacecraft booster,back on planet Earth.
(34:28):
It was amazing and incredibleto watch.
But what I think this spacereport presents is quite a
sobering analysis of therealities of human existence in
space.
And you know, this is not inany way to diminish or, I guess,
(34:50):
discourage, but only to reallybe facing this plan of
interstellar travel andcolonisation with the most, I
guess, realistic expectations.
And I really think that thescience says, as presented by
this report by the GuyFoundation, that the idea of
(35:13):
interplanetary colonisation isperhaps a quixotic endeavour,
meaning that the amount we'reasking the human body to
essentially adapt, to exist in,is that environment is so
different to what we need, ourevolved metabolic envelope, our
ancestral niche, however youwant to talk about it or frame
(35:36):
it, that the consequence ortrade-off will only ever be, you
know, extremely negative foranyone who chooses to put
themselves in that environment,and that that's going to have to
be a pretty open discussionwith anyone who wants to go to
mars or or go to into space,going to, uh, the moon.
You have to be comfortable withthe idea that you are, um,
(36:01):
invariably and inevitably goingto be shortening your life and
increasing the likelihood ofdeveloping chronic disease,
based on the data that we'vepresented the Guy Foundation has
presented that I've highlighted.
So how is this relevant to uson Earth and those who, in terms
(36:23):
of treating and addressingchronic disease, which is my
interest on planet Earth?
And really what we're doing isthat in today's society, we are
replicating in many ways thespace stresses that we that I've
some of them that I'vehighlighted in this presentation
, and they include radiationexposures, particularly radio
(36:43):
frequency and microwave, a lackof near infrared radiation and a
loss of circadian environmentalcues.
And we've done that since theinvention, essentially the
electrification of Earth indevelopment and the harnessing
of electricity, the invention ofthe AC power grid and then,
(37:05):
even more recently, the rolloutof 5G telecommunications
networks, the mandating ofenergy-saving lighting in
inverted commas, that iscompletely deficient of
near-infrared light and is bothcausing this near-infrared
(37:25):
starvation, this 21st centuryscurvy, but it's also causing
profound disruptions ofcircadian environmental cues
because of both the excess ofisolated blue light at night,
artificial light at night andthe deficiency in full spectrum
of red and infrared-containingsunlight during the day.
(37:46):
And really we can use thisaccelerated aging phenotype
curve to understand what peopleare doing to themselves today
when they decide to work in acubicle job that's completely
windowless and under fluorescentor LED lighting, or that
(38:11):
perhaps they choose to degradetheir mitochondrial function
with other environmentalexposures like processed foods,
alcohol or circadian disruptionor a combination of all of the
above.
And really the goal should be,from health optimization,
longevity point of view, is toget as close as possible to that
far right line where we aremaintaining our best health and
(38:37):
compressing morbidity or diseaseinto a very, very short time,
right at the end of our of themaximum lifespan of our species.
So and this this is anotherimage to really hammer home the
point, which is the modern humanexistence, our reality of our
daytime and our nighttime, islooking nothing like our
(38:57):
ancestral human experience.
So I hope that was informativeand interesting.
I would highly recommendeveryone to follow the Guy
Foundation.
Obviously, go to the website,read the report for yourself.
It's very easily to read, it'sdigestible, it's not overly
(39:18):
technical and follow the GuyFoundation's YouTube channel
because, at only 1.36,000subscribers, there's an
absolutely incredible amount ofinformation and resources on
this channel.
So it's a wealth of knowledge.
And if you want to learn moreabout my I guess, intellectual
(39:45):
journey into these topics, thencheck out my podcast,
regenerative Health, where I'veinterviewed a range of experts
on various topics related tointeractions of light on biology
, and that is my interest andwhat I believe is potentially up
there with the most impactfulmovements in terms of optimal
(40:09):
health and preventing chronicdisease.
If you want to learn more, thenstay tuned for a recent drop,
which will be artificial lightand how it's causing diabetes
without any food.
It's really an expansion onthese ideas.
Without any food, it's reallyan expansion on these ideas.
If you like this video and youwant to basically interact with
(40:31):
me, ask me questions or discussthis, then join my school group
and it is an opportunity to joina Q&A, interact with
like-minded people and supportmy work like-minded people and,
yeah, support my work.
Finally, I've got some coursescircadian reset and solar callus
(40:51):
, which are both designed tohelp educate you on how to
optimize your daytime andnighttime light exposures,
essentially, and circadianrhythms.
And finally, uh, I am running acircadian health retreat at the
end of the month.
It's actually sold out, but Iwill be hosting more circadian
(41:12):
retreats here in australia andpotentially uh elsewhere, so
follow me and if you'reinterested in this and you'll be
able to be notified when that'shappening.
So, and anything and anythingelse, then jump on my social
media or podcasts channels.
These are all the information,so I hope that is helpful.
(41:34):
And, yeah, please hit me upwith questions or comments in
the YouTube comments below andwe'll see if I can get to some
of them.
So thanks for listening.
In this episode I am going to be giving my analysis
of what I think is afundamentally groundbreaking
publication by the GuyFoundation, and the title of
this report is the HealthHazards of Space Travel.
So what is this report and whyis it important?
(00:22):
Well, the subtitle is NovelInsights from Quantum Biology,
and what the purpose of thisreport is is to essentially
analyze, from a quantumbiological perspective, the
challenges or difficulties thathumans will have in space or
(00:46):
trying to colonise space.
And the reason that they wrotethis is because we have so many
movements from Elon Musk andothers in interest in space
travel and space colonisation.
So in the beginning of thereport, the guy foundation noted
that um quantum biology studiespoint to the damaging effects
(01:09):
of the space environment onmitochondria and the electron
transport chain.
The other reason why it's, Ithink, very important to um
understand the points raised inthis report is because what we
are doing uh in on earth is isfundamentally a game of
optimising our mitochondrialcolony, and through the quantum
(01:31):
biological lens we can learnsome very valuable points.
The report's principalconclusion is that humans
venturing into space may facemore serious health hazards than
previously thought.
May face more serious healthhazards than previously thought.
If confirmed by research, thiswill call into question the
viability of human explorationin deep space.
Not what Elon wants to hear,but let's look what the science
(01:55):
says.
So, really briefly, who are theGuy Foundation?
So they're formed by a formerpharmaceutical executive,
medical doctor, philanthropist,professor Jeffrey Guy, from the
UK, and after being involved inthe pharmaceutical cannabis
(02:17):
industry, professor Guy has leftthat and basically repurposed
or set up this foundation withthe proceeds partial proceeds to
essentially dedicate to advancethe medicine via studying
quantum biology.
And what they seem to have doneso far is really get together
(02:41):
these world-leading researcherson mitochondria, on quantum
biology, and have put themtogether to answer these really
big questions of how can weharness these quantum biological
effects for advancing humanhealth.
So from my perspective, I wantedto answer the question about
(03:06):
why quantum biology is importantand what I've written here is
that the quantum biologicaleffects are occurring in the
human body and they influenceand dictate the efficiency of
the mitochondrial electrontransport chain and therefore
mitochondrial function.
And, as I alluded to brieflybefore, is that health, disease,
(03:27):
chronic disease, essentiallyboils down to how optimized or
um unoptimized, yourmitochondria are and disease,
when it shows up, chronicdisease essentially is the end
stage breakdown or inefficiencyof mitochondria in in that organ
(03:50):
and whether that presents asneurodegenerative disease, like
alzheimer's or parkinson'sdisease, or it's and manifests
in the heart, like heart failure, or in the pancreas diabetes,
or the kidneys, like chronickidney disease.
So this is important stuff.
(04:12):
So preserving mitochondrialefficiency is how we maximize
our health span.
The biochemistry and thefood-based paradigm of health
optimization is essentiallyinsufficient.
It's insufficient to addressthese fundamental biological
(04:32):
questions.
It is not enough essentially toreally it's not the basis.
So that's why we need to godeeper.
We need to start lookingthrough a quantum biological
lens, go deeper, we need tostart looking uh at the through
a quantum biological lens.
Space flight provides uh,basically, and this in extremis
study case for investigatinghuman disease on on planet earth
(04:53):
and this will make more senseby the time I get to the end but
essentially, what is going on?
But to our astronauts in theiss and by studying them and
seeing how they're falling sickand exactly how, that is deeply
informative to what's happeninghere on Earth.
(05:15):
So they have an amazingdefinition in this report and
it's one of optimal health, andthey say that optimal health is
a phenotype that maximizeshealth span and fitness while
demonstrating morbiditycompression in relation to its
species' maximum lifespan.
And that is a very, verysuccinct definition of what
(05:40):
optimal health is, of whatoptimal health is.
And in effect, they state theorganism is healthy for most of
its life, remaining fit,functional and robust, with
little evidence of disease forits age, until very close to its
time of death.
So think about someone youmight know, someone in your life
, who lived to the ripe old ageof 96 and was still driving up
(06:04):
until their 95th birthday andthen had a massive heart attack,
died very suddenly and was gameover.
So really that is what we'retalking about here and really
you can contrast that to what isoccurring in today's day and
age, where people are fallingsick and ill, with chronic
(06:26):
diseases perhaps starting intheir late 40s, 40s, 50s, and
having two, three decades ofillness and incapacity and
morbidity prior to dying, and inthat time period they're
customers of thispharmaceutical-based system.
So how have they framed thisconcept?
(06:48):
And I really love this graphthat they've presented, which is
this idea of an acceleratedaging phenotype, and what that
translates to is, essentially,when you're going up into space,
you're just demonstrating theeffects of essentially
accelerated aging, and thesecurves suggest that, in an ideal
(07:14):
situation that we would have,as we just defined before, close
to maximum as possible optimalhealth and then that perhaps
cuts off more sharply close tothe maximum lifespan.
But what is possibly happeninghere is that when we're in space
(07:38):
, then that is potentiallyreducing our life expectancy and
, through these, acceleratedaging phenotype, which, as we
mentioned, is related to poormitochondrial health.
So what this looks like wedon't know, but that is a
graphical way of understandingor considering what is happening
(08:00):
when humans are outside oftheir biologically evolved niche
and what that's going, orconsidering what is happening
when humans are outside of theirbiologically evolved niche and
what that's going to potentiallybe doing to maximum lifespan,
but also life expectancy andhealth span.
So accelerated aging when youhear that you should, it should
(08:22):
trigger you to think aboutmitochondrial dysfunction, and
they state in this in the report, that space-induced accelerated
aging phenotype appears to beassociated with the disruption
of cellular bioenergetics againsomething that I've been talking
about for well over a year andthat Jack Cruz first talked to
me in when we did our podcastseries together.
(08:45):
So keep, keep that in mind.
So what are the space exposuresassociated with mitochondrial
dysfunction?
Well, there we're going to gothrough each of them in turn.
They're zero gravity and theloss of tensegrity, radiation
exposures, the loss ofnear-infrared radiation, the
loss of circadian environmentalcues and the loss of a magnetic
(09:08):
field.
So let's start with Tensegrityand zero gravity.
And so what is Tensegrity?
It's an architectural approachin which structures are
stabilized by continuous tension.
Don Ingber put forward the ideathat cells use a form of
tensegrity some 20 years ago,proposing that microfilaments
(09:28):
and intermediate filaments beartensional forces which are
balanced by microtubules andfocal adhesions.
And that's from a 2003 articleon tensegrity and systems
biology.
So what effect are we reallylooking at as it relates to
space and existing in space?
(09:49):
So this diagram shows whatthey're meaning by the
mechanical forces of tensegrityand how it is key in terms of
maintaining the structure of thecell.
And I'll read out the diagramshows the different mechanical
forces of tension andcompression in different
(10:11):
materials.
In biological materials, theextracellular matrix and the
microtubules, for example, wouldbe involved in maintaining
tensegrity.
It is likely that life,especially complex life, is
reliant on this form for optimalfunction.
So you can just imagine thatwhen you're in zero gravity and
if you think about what theInternational Space Station is,
(10:34):
they're in continuous freefall.
That is what they're doing asit orbits Earth.
They're doing as it orbitsEarth.
So the loss of gravity isfundamentally a completely
different situation to when howwe evolved, and that is going to
be a very difficult one toovercome in space.
So what did they conclude?
(10:55):
It is likely that reduced and,in particular, zero gravity
removes the stimulus to maintainhealthy mitochondria and
cellular structural integrity,thereby decreasing metabolic
adaptability and increasingoxidative stress.
So pretty straightforward.
So now um, the second thatthey've talked about is uh,
(11:18):
radiation exposures, and, tobriefly get a little bit
technical, there's two roughlydistinctions that they make in
the report with regard to theradiation exposure in space, and
we're talking about linearenergy transfer, transfer, let
radiation, and the distinctionand the distinction, as made in
(11:43):
the report, is between highlinear energy transfer radiation
and low linear energy transferradiation.
So this high LED radiation ischarged particles emitted by the
sun, so things like helium,nuclei, protons and neutrons.
So these are essentially heavyparticles and they get emitted
(12:08):
during things like solar wind.
Thankfully, because of theEarth's magnetic field, they're
essentially deflected by Earth'smagnetism and therefore we're
protected from them.
This is contrasting to low-LEDradiation, which are photons and
high-energy photons,particularly gamma and X-rays
(12:30):
and they are actually absorbedby the Earth's atmosphere.
So we are protected by theatmosphere from that type of
radiation.
So why are they an issue?
Well, because they cause DNAstrand breaks, oxidative stress
and most importantlyspecifically, as it relates to
this space exposure, is thatthey're not intermittent
(12:54):
stresses.
They are continuous stresses.
And as we'll talk about alittle bit later is that humans
have an evolved ability to dealwith hormetic exposures which
provoke or allow the human bodyto adapt and respond.
But if they are continuous,then that is extremely difficult
(13:16):
or impossible for the body toform any form of adaptation
possible, for the body to formany form of adaptation.
Here is a visible depiction ofwhat's going on and that is the
magnetosphere protecting againstthis high LED radiation being
emitted from the sun andcontrasting how the atmosphere
(13:41):
allows the penetration ofdifferent wavelengths of photons
of electromagnetic energy,obviously allowing all the
visible light to get through,allowing infrared to get through
, but blocking gamma rays,blocking X-rays, allowing a
little bit of ultraviolet lightto get through and again, that's
(14:03):
going to depend on the sunangle in the sky and obviously
season and time of day, and thenletting things like the longer,
like radio waves, kind ofgetting through.
So that's just a visible,visible depiction, and so what?
So what's next?
What have they said about that?
(14:25):
Increased radiation inducesdamage in all cellular
compartments, resulting inincreased oxidative stress.
This is especially the casewith high linear energy transfer
.
Oxidative stress will compoundany direct DNA damage and
further reduce the capacity torepair and maintain DNA.
And what is an immediatedownstream consequence of DNA
(14:51):
damage?
And that is going to be cancermalignancy.
So, lack of near-infraredradiation and this is something
that I've talked at length about, but for those who are perhaps
(15:20):
listening to, this includes um,shorter wavelength light, which
again is ultraviolet uh.
Depending on those um the sunangle, it's visible and then
it's uh, it's infrared.
And what uh is occurring isthat the actual majority of
light photons, not by energy butby photon count, is in this
(15:41):
near-infrared range, from 750nanometres out to beyond 2,500.
And it has been not recogniseduntil very recently that this
infrared radiation is highlybiologically active and highly
(16:03):
irrelevant and important for thefunction of human cells,
specifically mitochondria.
So whereas, say, for example,plants in the process of
photosynthesis use mostly redand blue light and reflect green
, and that's why they'reperceived by our eyes as green,
(16:24):
they actually also reflect awhole bunch of this
near-infrared light and that iswhy if you use near-infrared
photography, then you basicallysee the things like trees lit up
, because they're reallyreflecting all of this light.
So the purpose of this slide isto illustrate that near
(16:44):
infrared radiation is afundamental white nutrient that
your cells need and thatbiological systems, from humans
down to fungi, have essentiallyevolved to make use of, and they
don't waste any biologicalsystems aren't wasting anything,
and that's because evolutionhas made them supremely
(17:08):
efficient to make use of all theenergy in their environment.
So a lack of near infraredradiation is something that is
obviously happening in space andin the space station.
Here's a visual depiction ofwhat's actually occurring.
Is that, amongst otherfunctions, which include
(17:28):
structuring the water inside thecells, which is occurring more
at longer wavelengths ofinfrared light, in shorter, the
near-infrared is stimulating theproduction of this antioxidant
hormone, melatonin, on site, andmelatonin is the oldest
evolutionary conserved and mosteffective antioxidant system and
(17:52):
it basically is able to have acascading antioxidant effect,
meaning its metabolites arethemselves antioxidants and it
is extremely powerful in moppingup the oxidative stress that's
occurring as a result of normalcellular mitochondrial
physiology and prior to its useas a hormonal signal of darkness
(18:16):
and nighttime in ourcirculatory system.
It was being used byprokaryotic organisms to
essentially cool the engines, todampen down oxidative stress
and reduce the mutation rate.
Essentially, that can occur inthe cells, prokaryotes or
(18:40):
mitochondria that don't have DNAprotected by nucleus.
So how has this been conceived?
Well, professor Bob Fosbury,who's the emeritus astronomer at
the European SouthernObservatory, he's described this
as 21st century scurvy, meaningthat if you don't have
(19:02):
near-infrared radiation, you'llhave this slow, progressive
reduction in mitochondrialefficiency, which is analogous,
akin to what occurred to sailorsduring long sea voyages.
So how can we think of?
(19:23):
And that was obviouslyoccurring due to a deficiency of
vitamin C, but how else can wethink about this?
This paper gives us a good ideaabout the role of near-infrared
and perhaps its benefit, whichis that near-infrared and red
light therapy as a potentialcountermeasure for mitochondrial
dysfunction in space flightedassociated neuroocular syndrome.
(19:43):
So, um, that syndrome is a?
Um potential occurrence forastronauts when they go into
space and the the pathology orthe pathophysiology of that
condition is related tomitochondrial dysfunction.
And what um this paper isproposing is that when we're
(20:04):
using photobiomodulation, whichis continuing to increase in its
evidence base, as a therapeutictool, then this could
potentially be a process, a toolby which we reverse or prevent
this consequence of spaceflight,and the mechanisms include
(20:26):
direct absorption by theelectron transport chain
compounds like cytochrome Coxidase to boost mitochondrial
function and have these increasein these cellular repair
metabolism effects.
So the next point that theytalk about in the report is a
(20:50):
loss of circadian environmentalcues, and this slide is to
illustrate that.
The physiology, the wiringdiagram of circadian biology as
it's human circadian biology,and the fundamental point to
understand is that the entire ofthe body's physiology is
(21:11):
orchestrated along an internaltiming mechanism which is
requiring inputting, updatingfrom environmental cues,
particularly light, and thoseexternal light signals help to
optimise essentially the runningof these biological processes,
(21:36):
from hormonal outputs tosleep-wake cycle, behaviour,
food-seeking behavior,reproduction, and then obviously
things like metabolism,reproduction, immune function.
They're all regulated along a24-hour cycle and the use of
natural sunlight as this primaryzeitgeber or input into
(22:00):
circadian entrainment can't beoverstated and what we are using
as mammals, as homo sapiens,has been built on biologically
like a pyramid, essentially on3.4 billion years of evolution
in which the full-spectrumnatural sunlight was the key
(22:26):
circadian entrainer and simplyremoving that or replacing that
with artificial light is notsomething that can be adapted to
overnight.
So what's the problem here?
Well, the problem is usingthese cool white LEDs that are
deficient in longer wavelengthred and infrared light, with a
massive spike in the blue range,and expecting that we're going
(22:51):
to get the same biologicaloutcome.
Well, we're not, and the reasonwe're not is because that
spectrum looks nothing like fullspectrum sunlight, which has
always a commensurate balance ofblue with red and infrared.
And this really possibly I wouldsuggest we could, rather than
(23:14):
saying the loss of circadianenvironmental cues, I would
actually say this is severedisruption of circadian
environmental cues, becausethere's plenty of blue light and
I didn't mention before butit's the actual blue wavelengths
that are most impactful interms of circadian entrainment
through the eyes, because it'sthe melanopsin-containing,
intrinsically photosensitiveretinal ganglion cells that are
(23:35):
most responsive to the presenceor absence of blue light in the
environment to entrain thecircadian rhythm.
So it's actually, you know,there's abundance of blue light
in the space environment, butthe problem here is that it's
not balanced and it'sessentially continuous and it's
(23:56):
not in the ancestrally evolvedform, which was extremely
contextual, as we would have hadnatural blue light through from
the sun.
And here's simply anotherdiagram, more detailed, which
shows that it's the perceptionof this blue light in the eye
(24:17):
and that is entraining thecircadian rhythm, feeding into
the hypothalamus, thesuprachiasmatic nucleus, and
then sending down a signal uh,via the um.
Uh, but via the I believe it'sa super superior cervical um
(24:39):
ganglion, to to turn offmelatonin.
So that is, and obviously it'sgiving out other signals to do
with mood regulation at an areacalled the her nucleus and to
mediate the capillary lightreflex at all, the very
(24:59):
pre-tectal nucleus.
So how did they summarize theselight exposures in the report?
Well, they said that a lack ofnear-infrared radiation due to
artificial blue-shiftedLED-based lighting may result in
increased cellular stress.
And the loss of circadianenvironmental cues that underpin
an organism's biologicalrhythms results in cellular
(25:21):
stress, further challenging analready metabolically
compromised system.
So keep that in mind, becausethat we're going to talk about
that more as it relates tonon-space environments.
So what else did I talk about?
So, loss of magnetic field, andthis is a fascinating area of
(25:41):
quantum biology, which is theuse of magnetism and its effect
on biology.
And this diagram here says itshows a radical pair comprising
two electrons in the Earth'smagnetic field.
The Earth has a static magneticfield with a north and south
pole.
The chemical outcomes ofradical pair reactions are
sensitive to external magneticfields due to the interacting
(26:04):
spins of the electrons and,going all the way back in terms
of the history of quantumbiology and this ability of the
European robin to essentiallysense magnetic fields and
therefore use it to navigate,this is related to this
interaction of electrons andfree radicals.
(26:26):
So what do they say in thereport?
In this sense, the Earth'smagnetic field interacts
directly with biological systems.
Rather than merely screeningthem from radiation, it does
this by changing the spin statesof molecules and the chemistry
that depends on these spinstates.
Biological systems have evolvedtheir chemical reactions within
the Earth's specific fields andare clearly affected by changes
(26:50):
in the field strength bothabove and critically below.
This means that travel todestinations that have no
magnetic field, for example theMoon or Mars, could have
fundamental effects on thechemistry integral to life.
A further aspect is that it'sbecoming apparent that circadian
shifts in the Earth's magneticfield also appear to be a
zeitgeber and likely interactwith the classical light-driven
(27:12):
cryptochromes also involved inmagnetic sensitivity.
In short, a hypomagnetic fieldcould interfere with circadian
rhythms.
The key message is that not onlyare static electrical fields
important in biology, butthrough the property of spin, it
would seem.
So are static magnetic fields,both endogenous and exogenous.
(27:35):
Much like the suggestednear-infrared starvation idea,
astronauts could also sufferfrom magnetic starvation,
suggesting that for optimalhealth the Earth's magnetic
field may need to be reproducedin some way in a spacecraft.
And finally, the lack ofmagnetic field, they summarised,
could increase oxidative stressby altering quantum spin-based
(27:57):
homeostasis, putting more stresson cells.
So if we go back to this ideaof an accelerated aging
phenotype that is occurring inastronauts, then we remember
that it's all a manifestation ofmitochondrial dysfunction and
the space exposures that areassociated with this are zero
(28:18):
gravity, the loss of tensegrity,radiation exposures, the loss
of near-infrared radiation, theloss of circadian or the
disruption of circadianenvironmental cues and the loss
of a magnetic field.
So this diagram titled themitochondrial canary in the
metabolic coal mine summarizesthis graphically about
(28:39):
potentially what is occurring.
And at the center of thisdiagram of a mitochondrion are
changes in electron transportchain and all the different
potential inputs andconsequences of that.
To do with these inputs,gravity, radiation, light
(29:00):
spectra, circadian rhythm,magnetic fields, pressure and
oxygen, and that's all going toinfluence, obviously the output.
So how the mitochondriaeventually regulate the nuclear
genome and how mitochondrialphysiology dictates the cell
fate, because they can be thetrigger to send that cell into
(29:24):
programmed cell death.
Potentially so.
And yeah, it's fundamental whatis going on to the
mitochondrion, because that isgoing to influence the whole
body's physiology.
So what have they said in termsof summarising this fascinating
research?
As discussed, it is possiblethat astronauts could be
(29:46):
developing an accelerated agingphenotype.
The breadth of negativephysiological effects that
result from being exposed tospace environments and I've
abbreviated here includemusculoskeletal, cardiovascular
and pulmonary changes, as wellas ocular problems and
neurological effects.
The immune system experiencesprofound alterations, with
(30:06):
latent viruses reactivated.
There are also changes inmetabolism likely associated
with mitochondrial dysfunctionand the development of insulin
resistance and pre-diabetes.
The emphasis is mine.
Note that we haven't talkedabout food at all.
We're talking about the contextin which mitochondria are
(30:29):
existing and how issues orenvironmental changes that are
so key to mitochondrial functionwhen they're perturbed or
disturbed, and then metabolicdisease like insulin resistance
and prediabetes is a downstreamconsequence.
(30:49):
So, beyond humans evolved niche,this graph here illustrates how
on earth these normalenvironmental factors they fine
tune for optimal health, andthose are things like gravity,
the light spectrum, circadianrhythms, magnetic fields and
radiation, and essentially,metabolism has evolved to
(31:09):
essentially be stimulated andbenefit from in a really
hormetical, beneficial way andfrom those exposures on planet,
planet earth.
But being in space, the, as wetalked about, the lack of
gravity, gravity, the alteredlight spectrum, the completely
disrupted circadian rhythms, thelack of magnetic field and all
(31:31):
that radiation that's perhapscontinuous.
This is a situation wherehumans have not evolved and
we're really going beyond whatis known as our metabolic
envelope when we're in space andthere's no hormetic response.
Our metabolic envelope whenwe're in space and there's no
hormetic response.
So they've subtitled orcommented that going into space
(31:55):
puts astronauts beyond theirevolved, adaptive metabolic
envelope.
Some factors are required foroptimal function, such as
gravity, a magnetic field,near-infrared light and
circadian zeitgeist, or othersdirectly cause oxidative stress
and damage, such as low andespecially high linear energy
transfer.
The result is inflammation andpotentially an accelerated aging
phenotype due to disruptedelectron flow, which is not
(32:18):
immediately lethal but mayincrease the risk of morbidity.
Some are almost instantlylethal, such as a vacuum or
excessive temperatures.
Some are almost instantlylethal, such as a vacuum or
excessive temperatures.
So what are the findings?
I'm going to read them out.
The report's principal findingis that space travel seems
likely to induce the acceleratedaging in astronauts, and this
accelerated aging phenotypeneeds to be investigated and
(32:40):
explained as a matter of urgency, of urgency.
Furthermore, the reporthighlights that this
space-induced accelerated agingphenotype appears to be
associated with the disruptionof cellular bioenergetics, which
could have other, perhaps moreworrying, health consequences.
The only way humans may live inoptimal health in space is by
(33:01):
reproducing Earth's environmentexactly, and I think that's
self-evident when we considerhow much of a Goldilocks zone,
so to speak, earth is and howfinely tuned evolution has
designed us, physiologically andfrom a mitochondrial point of
(33:22):
view, to these specificsituations or environments on
planet Earth.
So here's another way ofthinking about it Look at the
nighttime and daytime as someonemight expose themselves or be
experienced on the InternationalSpace Station or perhaps on a
spaceship to Mars, and thatdifference, that daytime and
(33:45):
nighttime, even from a purelycircadian rhythm point of view,
is looking nothing like daytimeand nighttime in our ancestral
human experience, and what isoccurring in, across, or what a
normal day is on planet Earth,and those, as it relates to
(34:05):
those environmental exposuresthat we discussed, you know it
couldn't be further removed whenwe're in space.
So what does this mean?
What does this mean for spacetravel and, you know, recently,
elon Musk's incredibleachievement of landing the
booster, the spacecraft booster,back on planet Earth.
(34:28):
It was amazing and incredibleto watch.
But what I think this spacereport presents is quite a
sobering analysis of therealities of human existence in
space.
And you know, this is not inany way to diminish or, I guess,
(34:50):
discourage, but only to reallybe facing this plan of
interstellar travel andcolonisation with the most, I
guess, realistic expectations.
And I really think that thescience says, as presented by
this report by the GuyFoundation, that the idea of
(35:13):
interplanetary colonisation isperhaps a quixotic endeavour,
meaning that the amount we'reasking the human body to
essentially adapt, to exist in,is that environment is so
different to what we need, ourevolved metabolic envelope, our
ancestral niche, however youwant to talk about it or frame
(35:36):
it, that the consequence ortrade-off will only ever be, you
know, extremely negative foranyone who chooses to put
themselves in that environment,and that that's going to have to
be a pretty open discussionwith anyone who wants to go to
mars or or go to into space,going to, uh, the moon.
You have to be comfortable withthe idea that you are, um,
(36:01):
invariably and inevitably goingto be shortening your life and
increasing the likelihood ofdeveloping chronic disease,
based on the data that we'vepresented the Guy Foundation has
presented that I've highlighted.
So how is this relevant to uson Earth and those who, in terms
(36:23):
of treating and addressingchronic disease, which is my
interest on planet Earth?
And really what we're doing isthat in today's society, we are
replicating in many ways thespace stresses that we that I've
some of them that I'vehighlighted in this presentation
, and they include radiationexposures, particularly radio
(36:43):
frequency and microwave, a lackof near infrared radiation and a
loss of circadian environmentalcues.
And we've done that since theinvention, essentially the
electrification of Earth indevelopment and the harnessing
of electricity, the invention ofthe AC power grid and then,
(37:05):
even more recently, the rolloutof 5G telecommunications
networks, the mandating ofenergy-saving lighting in
inverted commas, that iscompletely deficient of
near-infrared light and is bothcausing this near-infrared
(37:25):
starvation, this 21st centuryscurvy, but it's also causing
profound disruptions ofcircadian environmental cues
because of both the excess ofisolated blue light at night,
artificial light at night andthe deficiency in full spectrum
of red and infrared-containingsunlight during the day.
(37:46):
And really we can use thisaccelerated aging phenotype
curve to understand what peopleare doing to themselves today
when they decide to work in acubicle job that's completely
windowless and under fluorescentor LED lighting, or that
(38:11):
perhaps they choose to degradetheir mitochondrial function
with other environmentalexposures like processed foods,
alcohol or circadian disruptionor a combination of all of the
above.
And really the goal should be,from health optimization,
longevity point of view, is toget as close as possible to that
far right line where we aremaintaining our best health and
(38:37):
compressing morbidity or diseaseinto a very, very short time,
right at the end of our of themaximum lifespan of our species.
So and this this is anotherimage to really hammer home the
point, which is the modern humanexistence, our reality of our
daytime and our nighttime, islooking nothing like our
(38:57):
ancestral human experience.
So I hope that was informativeand interesting.
I would highly recommendeveryone to follow the Guy
Foundation.
Obviously, go to the website,read the report for yourself.
It's very easily to read, it'sdigestible, it's not overly
(39:18):
technical and follow the GuyFoundation's YouTube channel
because, at only 1.36,000subscribers, there's an
absolutely incredible amount ofinformation and resources on
this channel.
So it's a wealth of knowledge.
And if you want to learn moreabout my I guess, intellectual
(39:45):
journey into these topics, thencheck out my podcast,
regenerative Health, where I'veinterviewed a range of experts
on various topics related tointeractions of light on biology
, and that is my interest andwhat I believe is potentially up
there with the most impactfulmovements in terms of optimal
(40:09):
health and preventing chronicdisease.
If you want to learn more, thenstay tuned for a recent drop,
which will be artificial lightand how it's causing diabetes
without any food.
It's really an expansion onthese ideas.
Without any food, it's reallyan expansion on these ideas.
If you like this video and youwant to basically interact with
(40:31):
me, ask me questions or discussthis, then join my school group
and it is an opportunity to joina Q&A, interact with
like-minded people and supportmy work like-minded people and,
yeah, support my work.
Finally, I've got some coursescircadian reset and solar callus
(40:51):
, which are both designed tohelp educate you on how to
optimize your daytime andnighttime light exposures,
essentially, and circadianrhythms.
And finally, uh, I am running acircadian health retreat at the
end of the month.
It's actually sold out, but Iwill be hosting more circadian
(41:12):
retreats here in australia andpotentially uh elsewhere, so
follow me and if you'reinterested in this and you'll be
able to be notified when that'shappening.
So, and anything and anythingelse, then jump on my social
media or podcasts channels.
These are all the information,so I hope that is helpful.
(41:34):
And, yeah, please hit me upwith questions or comments in
the YouTube comments below andwe'll see if I can get to some
of them.
So thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.