When astronauts visit the International Space Station (ISS), they experience a weightless environment. Although it might sound like fun to float about in space, the lack of gravity means that the bones and muscles that support and move the body do not need to work as hard. To ensure they can safely return to Earth’s gravity, astronauts visiting the ISS must exercise for two and a half hours per day, six days per week to keep their muscles and bones strong.

“At a body systems level, we see many similarities between the effects of ageing and the effects of microgravity,” says Sharon. “However, few studies look at the changes on a cellular level. For our study, we focused on the similarities and differences between ageing and altered gravity from a cellular perspective.”

To investigate this topic, Sharon considered three types of gravity that differ from what we experience on Earth, collectively called altered gravity.