Disentangling Human Transcriptomic Responses to Spaceflight Radiation and Simulated Microgravity
Year: 2026
Type: study-registration
Abstract: This retrospective registration documents a completed secondary bioinformatics investigation of human transcriptomic responses associated with spaceflight and controlled human radiation and simulated microgravity models. Four molecular pathways were prespecified: oxidative stress (ROS), DNA repair, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and inflammatory response. The analysis compared astronaut mission contexts with experimental human models, explicitly distinguishing sampling phases, biological systems, and levels of radiological exposure evidence. Primary analyses were completed and locked on 17 October 2026, before this registration. Of 60 confirmatory context–pathway tests, none remained significant after within-context Holm correction; exploratory gene-ranked enrichment identified 32 of 60 comparisons meeting the reported adjusted threshold. The findings indicate heterogeneous and overlapping responses, without establishing radiation-specific signatures or causal radiation effects in astronauts. The analytical code and documentation are maintained in GitHub, and locked aggregate results are archived in Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23480847).
Source: Open Science Framework
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7222976146