DOZENS OF BABY squid from Hawaii have been sent into space as part of a study.
The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid were raised at the University of Hawaiis Kewalo Marine Laboratory and were blasted into space earlier this month on a SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Researcher Jamie Foster, who completed her doctorate at the University of Hawaii, is studying how spaceflight affects the squid in hopes of bolstering human health during long space missions, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The squid have a symbiotic relationship with natural bacteria that help regulate their bioluminescence.
When astronauts are in low gravity their bodys relationship with microbes changes, said University of Hawaii professor Margaret McFall-Ngai, who Ms Foster studied under in the 1990s.
We have found that the symbiosis of humans with their microbes is perturbed in microgravity, and Jamie has shown that is true in squid, said Prof McFall-Ngai.
And, because its a simple system, she can get to the bottom of whats going wrong.
Ms Foster is now a Florida professor and principal investigator for a Nasa programme that researches how microgravity affects the interactions between animals and microbes.
As astronauts spend more and more time in space, their immune systems become whats called dysregulated. It doesnt function as well, Foster said.
Their immune systems dont recognise bacteria as easily. They sometimes get sick.
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Foster said understanding what happens to the squid in space could help solve health problems that astronauts face.
There are aspects of the immune system that just dont work properly under long-duration spaceflights, she said.
If humans want to spend time on the moon or Mars, we have to solve health problems to get them there safely.
The Kewalo Marine Laboratory breeds the squid for research projects around the world. The tiny animals are plentiful in Hawaiian waters and are about three inches long as adults.
The squid will come back to Earth in July.
