Space THAL

This project has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of a blood disorder called thalassaemia. This condition impacts thousands, if not millions, of people in the Mediterranean region as well as around 28 people in Malta.

But let’s go back to basics.

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes your body to have less haemoglobin than normal. Haemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen, a lack of this can cause anaemia, leaving patients tired. Mild thalassaemia may not require treatment but more severe forms can be treated with regular blood transfusions – often ranging from every four to six weeks.

More specifically, people with thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia – another blood condition branded the “silent killer in Africa” – have a genetic defect in their adult haemoglobin

At different stages of conception and life, humans experience switches in the levels of their blood’s haemoglobins from embryonic to foetal to adult. As the names suggest, the switches occur when an embryo turns into a foetus and after a foetus is born.

Studies have shown that foetal haemoglobin can actually improve the severity of thalassaemia – this means that thalassaemia patients who naturally have higher levels of foetal haemoglobin suffer less and require less treatment.

Where does space come in?

In space, a lot changes physiologically, including blood.

While in space, certain genes are activated and this causes an increase in foetal haemoglobins within the astronaut. Borg’s team seeks to uncover the key genes or markers that play a part in this increase to further discover how to trigger these genes within thalassaemia and sickle cell patients.

If this study is successful, treatment for these patients can dramatically change. Eventually, they may no longer require a lifetime of blood transfusions, consequently relieving pressure from the national blood banks.

As it stands, the only major breakthrough in the treatment of this disorder is gene therapy which costs around €2 million per patient, Borg explained.

The research team will be partnering with esteemed institutions including Mayo Clinic and Weill Cornell Medicine in the USA, and Sanquin in the Netherlands which will ensure the integration of leading-edge medical expertise into the project.

Two members of the team, as well as a young Bachelor of Science student will even be travelling to the USA just before the astronauts make their way to space, marking a significant moment in these current and budding scientists’ careers.

MELITE

The second project – MELITE – aims to investigate the human microbiome’s behavior in space, providing insights into how microgravity affects microbial populations associated with human health focusing on the conjunctival microbiome. It connects closely with scientist Christine Gatt’s work on project Maleth, Malta’s first space bioscience program also carried out by Borg’s team.

Project Maleth sent microbiome of diabetic foot ulcers to space, examining them before and after for research on the treatment of these ulcers. Upon seeing this research, Saudi Arabian company Falak for Space Science and Research wanted to collaborate with Borg’s team.

MELITE is a pilot study through which four microbiome samples of the Saudi Arabian company will be sent to space. The findings are expected to pave the way for significant implications for long-duration space travel and potential applications in improving health outcomes on Earth.

If the pilot project is a success, there is the possibility that Falak for Space Science and Research will develop a research program where a number of scientific projects will be sent to space between Malta and Saudi Arabia.

This research is conducted in partnership with Falak for Space Science and Research, who contribute invaluable microbiome samples. The findings are expected to have significant implications for long-duration space travel and potential applications in improving health outcomes on Earth.

Both projects are conducted in collaboration with the University of Malta, and other academic institutions offering exceptional research opportunities for academic studies. This partnership underscores SPACEOMIX’s commitment to fostering scientific advancement and educational development within the Maltese community. It further solidifies SPACEOMIX’s place at the forefront of space biotechnology.

“We’re not just sending science to space, we’re bringing hope back to Earth.”

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