Skin health in space: Colgate-Palmolive to set up orbiting laboratory, investigating microgravity effects

17 Feb 2022 --- Colgate-Palmolive’s PCA Skin brand is setting up an orbiting space laboratory to investigate if exposure to microgravity will accelerate skin repair. The research team will send live tissue samples from tissue-engineered skin to investigate these outcomes, which ultimately may help the partnership develop novel strategies for skin health management.

This probe will be supported by the US International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory commercial service provider BioServe Space Technologies.

“We anticipate seeing earlier and more dramatic signs of tissue damage and perhaps activation of skin repair mechanisms – both indicative of skin aging – in the skin tissues in microgravity versus on Earth,” says Laurence Du-Thumm, director of external innovation and R&D at Colgate-Palmolive.

“You can not see the changes to the skin samples visually because the changes are happening at the molecular level.”

Cloud of skin flakes in microgravity
The natural process of skin molting is rarely observed on earth. However, the lack of gravity in outer space means that these particles will float away, as former astronaut Don Pettit describes in a video published by the ISS.

Because of the fact that multiple reside onboard the Space Station together means that keeping skin healthy and moisturized is essential to maintaining sanitary measures.

Don Petit details that “explosions of skin particles” – detritus – often floats out when astronauts remove their socks.The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket (Credit: NASA).

“And you're in this weightless environment, and the particles have nowhere to go but out,” he adds. 

Foot calluses often present significant problems, because they tend to soften after a few months of weightlessness.

Skin exposure to microgravity investigated
Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Resupply Services will conduct Colgate-Palmolive’s skin health experiment in the orbiting laboratory.

Exposure to microgravity affects human physiology in multiple ways, including spurring the development of skin rashes and other irritations while in orbit.

“Sophisticated sequencing methods are needed to detect the changes occurring and what is causing them,” Du-Thumm explains.

“This is why we will freeze the samples at different intervals and wait until they are back on Earth to conduct a detailed analysis and compare findings to those observed in our matching control experiment back on the ground.”

This investigation will study the effects of microgravity on skin physiology.According to Du-Thumm, the experiment will be set up in stages to study the effects of microgravity exposure on the engineered human skin. She also notes that dry skin can lead to additional concerns such as skin rashes, bruises and cuts.

Frozen skin tissue samples
The investigation will include multiple tissue sample sets frozen at specific time points. It will represent snapshots of the skin tissue’s molecular and physiological response – biomarkers – to the stress of the microgravity environment.

The researchers will then analyze the tissue samples using gene sequencing to look for and identify specific biomarkers indicating tissue damage and skin repair.

Observing changes in specific genes will enable the research team to identify ways to help ease the effects of dry and damaged skin.

Colgate-Palmolive’s interplanetary endeavors
This is not the first time Colgate-Palmolive has taken to outer space to investigate how it might be able to improve the sanitary conditions of passengers onboard the ISS.

Previously, the company sent the “first” oral health investigation to be performed by the ISS.

The oral health investigation sought to identify the molecular characteristics of a healthy and diseased oral microbiome through cultivated oral bacterial biofilms on enamel-type of surfaces.

Last week, Colgate-Palmolive unveiled a “know your OQ” initiative to help consumers become more aware of their oral health needs.

Edited by Nicole Kerr

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