Jefferson Investigates: Space Travel & the Urinary Microbiome, Mushroom-Based Packaging Material, Wearables for Parkinson’s Disease

Between groundbreaking scientific exploration and an expanding industry for private travel, it’s an exciting time for humans in space. However, astronauts and space travelers are at increased risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), urinary retention and kidney stones because of the low-gravity conditions during space travel and other factors. Jefferson Health researchers teamed up with researchers at Sheba Medical Center in Israel to learn more by comparing urine samples from non-astronaut space travelers when they were in space and on Earth.

Jefferson and Sheba’s collaborative project was included aboard the Rakia space mission that took space travelers to the international space station in 2022. Their study, published in JU Open Plus, a publication of the American Urological Association, was the first to examine the effects of short-duration space travel on the urinary microbiome.

“Other studies have looked at the microbiome of the gut, skin, nose and mouth, but they didn’t look at the urine,” says Jefferson Health urologist Paul Chung, MD, the study’s first author. “On previous space flights, astronauts have developed UTIs. Studying the urinary microbiome could help us understand why this may occur.”

Four male space travelers from the Rakia mission provided urine samples before and after space travel. One of the four men also provided urine samples at different points during space travel.

After the mission, researchers examined bacteria levels in the urine samples from before, during and after space travel. They found microbiome changes as early as two days into space travel and lasted for a short time after returning to Earth. The general trends were similar to those identified in other body sites. Some bacterial levels increased, while others decreased. The shift in proportion may contribute to an increased risk of UTIs.

The study results may provide baseline information for future researchers who study the incidence of urinary events during space travel.

“Our research shows the ability to harness the power of collaborative work,” says Dr. Chung, who is also a faculty member at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. “This was possible because of relationships that Jefferson has with other universities.”

Collaborators include Javad Parvizi, MD, from Jefferson; Ben Boursi, MD, from Sheba; Caleb Phillips, PhD, from Texas Tech University; and Curtis Nickel, MD, from Queen’s University.

By Lisa Fields

Materials used to package food, such as Styrofoam, tend to be harmful to both our health and the environment. Biodegradable materials like mycelium-based composites (MBCs), a foam-like substance made from mycelium (the root-like network of mushrooms) grown on agricultural waste materials like hemp, offer more sustainable alternatives. However, the current process of creating hemp MBCs can be complex and expensive.

Along with her team of student researchers, Thomas Jefferson University engineering professor Radika Bhaskar tested out minimally processed hemp – where fibers were not separated – as a substrate for MBCs. To do this, the team evaluated the properties of three locally available mushroom strains when grown with two different fiber ratios of the substrate. They were especially focused on the material’s compressive strength – its ability to hold weight without being squished, which is important for food packaging.

The team was excited to discover that all three species were able to grow on both fiber ratios. “In some cases, the compressive strength even exceeded what’s found in Styrofoam,” says Dr. Bhaskar. The resulting material tended to be lighter and stronger at a higher fiber ratio, where more hemp fiber was incorporated, suggesting that this ratio may be optimal for use in packaging.

These findings provide a sustainable, low-cost alternative to the environmentally harmful materials typically used. “We were really excited to see you can grow directly on minimally processed hemp,” says Dr. Bhaskar.

Tanisha Rutledge, an undergraduate who worked on the study, was so interested in the project that she carried her research on MBCs into her master’s thesis. “Natural biodegradable materials became important to me because they can benefit people while having little impact on the environment,” says Rutledge. Her master’s findings have been submitted for publication, and she is exploring commercialization opportunities.

Dr. Bhaskar hopes this new finding can further advancements in sustainable packaging and beyond by developing higher-value products from local Philadelphia-area industries.

By Zoe Cunniffe

An important component of medical care for people with Parkinson’s disease involves monitoring progression of the debilitating neurodegenerative disease. A new study by Thomas Jefferson University researchers describes how wearable devices can automate assessment.

Currently, the gold standard assessment requires observation by an expert diagnostician, says neurologist and senior author, Tsao-Wei Liang, MD. “Diagnosis of Parkinson’s is not that difficult,” he says, because the disease’s movement problems are so distinctive, including tremor and unusually slow and deliberate movements. However, detecting changes over time, whether as a result of progression or treatment, is much harder. “It can be too subtle to the naked eye.”

Two medical students, co-authors Katherine Silis and Nicholas Kieran, who were both on the Scholarly Inquiry Track at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, conducted the study published in the journal Disability and Rehabilitation using a commercial device — the XSens sensor — that measures movement in a similar way to smartwatch step counters. “We placed the sensors on different parts of the body to determine the highest yield measurements,” says senior author Mijail Serruya, MD, PhD, who regularly works with engineers at the Raphael Center for Neurorestoration to address rehabilitation in people with disabilities. 

Designed to look for the most telling measure, the sensor helped the researchers find two — wrist rotation and stride length — that discerned Parkinson’s movements from everyday movements in people without the disease. Thus, this small pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of using wearable sensors to monitor symptoms outside of the clinic. The method is objective and automated, Dr. Serruya says: “Like an EKG for the neurological exam.”

Feasibility is an important first step, though there may well be better tools out there, Dr. Liang says. The XSens sensor was a convenient tool to begin with because it comes with processing software to model movement. Ultimately, Dr. Liang would like to employ a combination of modalities including at-home wearable devices and in-office video capture to enhance long-term follow-up and track progression of symptoms. “There’s so much tech available, so much we could potentially employ,” he says, “and it definitely helps to collaborate with experts in this field, such as Dr. Serruya.”

Drs. Liang and Serruya are also faculty at Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

By Jill Adams