The second in a series of articles that explores Frontier Technologies and Deep Tech that have the potential to change our evolutionary path. Episode 2 — Gravity.

For a long time I’ve been fascinated by gravity and its impact on evolution, on species and technology, yes technology! My thinking is sometimes it is not what you add, but what you take away. I want to know about gravity and its role from the emergence of life from early bacteria and simple organisms to the amazingly complex animal, human and plant based life forms, structures and environments in which we live, and I want to know what happens when it (gravity) is taken away fully or in part.

Arguably, human evolution took its time, building upon the origins of life itself 3.5 billions years earlier, a time known as the ‘primordial soup’ , where the presence of water was essential for molecular life to support chemical reactions, acting as a protective barrier, with ammonia acids and nucleotides formed the building blocks of life, 4 million years later we have humanity…

I want to know what role gravity had in this soup?

We know gravity helps keep Earth in a stable orbit around the sun, called ‘Goldilocks Zone”‘ or habitable zone around a star. The masses of celestial bodies — planets, stars and moons that do the space time dance, as their mass distorts the fabric of the bits in the middle. Get too close to the sun, water never forms is vaporised, too far and water never becomes a liquid. Yet the sun’s rays in many forms provides the ability for humans to make energy and for plants to make energy for life to exist.

I want to start at the level of individual cells. We know cellular respiration is the process of the human organism, specifically it is the mitochondria respiration — where glucose and oxygen are consumed and carbon dioxide produced. In plants it is the reverse process using carbon dioxide and generate oxygen. A reminder that one supports the other in a delicate balance.So the suggestion is — evolution may not of happened without the presence of gravity.

The scientific conclusion is gravity is essential for maintaining the structure and function of the human body, as well as for the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Without gravity, the human body would find it challenging to grow and perform as it should. Although it is possible, living in zero gravity would necessitate considerable physiological and technological changes in humans.

And it is worth remembering, cells are squeezed into 2D by gravity and can exist in 3D and 4D in partial ‘microgravity’ and in ‘zero gravity’. I want to know what this means for life, new life and artificial biologies?

So there we have it, or do we?

Gravity was essential for evolution and helps our bodies keep their form and shape. OK. I get it. But I still have questions?

It is true, gravity contributes to our physical demise. The weight that bones must endure due to the forces of gravity contributes to the strength and density of our skeletal bones. We know astronauts who spend a lot of time in the lower-gravity environment suffer a loss of bone density. The reverse of how human muscles grow stronger and more defined is a response to gravity, human muscles do the same providing necessary resistance to stimulate growth.

We also know gravity plays a role in the development of some diseases and ailments. For instance can cause blood to collect in the legs, which can result in diseases like varicose veins and lead to disorders like pulmonary edoemaby causing fluid to build up in the lungs, we know gravity contributes to ageing, to wear and tear on the body, especially the skin and from the day you are born, gravity accelerates and supports entropy.

Is it a case of can’t live with it or without it?

For the human body to adapt to life ‘off -world’ in zero gravity, the human body would need to be adapted. Specifically our physiology would have to adjust to the reduction in tension on the bones and muscles created by gravity, extensive periods of time, resistance is needed or it would make it impossible to return to earth due to advanced atrophy.

It gets worse, without the pull of gravity fluid will move around the body in different ways, the movement of essential body’s fluids (blood) will be impacted. In zero gravity the bodies fluids have free rein to go anywhere, this can result in a buildup of fluid in the head, face, and upper body, might impair vision and hearing and alter the appearance of the eyes. Sort of explains why alien pictures always have big eyes.

The immune system will be impacted, since microgravity can alter how the immune system functions, no gravity at all may make the body more vulnerable to infections, to new bugs and germs, that only exists in the the zero gravity of space.

What would we need to do to live and work for extended periods in space?

Humans CANNOT live in space for extended durations without adapting biology, physiology and psychology as we have said above. Even with these adaptations humans would need to create an environment that can protect and sustain our evolution over time, the slowing of atrophy and entropy,otherwise humans will die much quicker.

We’ve all seen the Si-Fi movies where the space civilisation uses a centrifuge, magnetic levitation, or a rotating habitat to create new environments. The common theme — how to use and develop technology that can deliver artificial gravity, on a spacecraft or lunar base, space station or other construct (lab). The need to replicate the full or partial effects of gravity through rotation calls for significant technological development. Other new options might exist that includes a gravity compression suit — that delivers the right environment? The use of nano materials inside the body helping to keep things moving? Other solutions are likely to stumbled upon.

The future is Zero Gravity?

Despite the negatives for the human form, the opportunities for advancements, and discoveries using a Zero Gravity environment are significant. There are several notable projects worth mentioning including — NASA’s Microgravity Research programme studies how materials behave in microgravity and could lead to the development of innovative alloys and ceramics with improved thermal properties and high strength-to-weight ratios. The European Space Agency has also been doing research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to grow large single crystals of semiconductors in low gravity in order to improve solar cells, LEDs, and electronic devices, where one of our clients is participating.

I am particularly keen to understand the impact of gravity on biotech, how our biology works at zero gravity, as this offers new perspectives on pharmaceutical research and medication discovery. In the microgravity setting here on earth, scientists have already created new cell types, tissues, and organoids, in three dimensions rather than two dimensions as they would on earth. This might lead to a better understanding of how cells interact with one another and arrange themselves within the human body, as well as how they respond to various drugs and therapies. Microgravity can also be used to create specific cells or tissues, such stem cells, that can be utilised to treat diseases or create innovative drugs that can be used to cure illnesses like cancer.

Another example is the BioCellection project, which is coordinated by the European Space Agency and University of Colorado who’s aim is to employ microgravity to create tissues and cells that can be used to cure diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis. The prognosis of this emerging frontier tech sector is it will accelerate develop new treatments for ailments including osteoporosis and muscular atrophy, and NASA has been researching the impact of microgravity on stem cells onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Summary.

Space is a new frontier, and new horizon for the development of new products, materials, processes and all kinds of things. Here on earth we can also harness low gravity effects that will drive innovation, understanding and new science.

It seems we are tied to gravity for human existence to prosper, partly to do with our evolution and how our bodies developed, this is partly to do with the trillions to one shot earth was positioned in exactly the right place in our solar system, then throw in the odds of being born as a human is 1 : 400 trillion. Then a specific egg being fertilised is 1:400. So you can see where this is leading and no I’m not going down the Fermi Paradox path this time, the odds merely play out here.

Gravity is a fundamental force of humanity, of nature, of space and time. We can’t live without it, but we can minimise its effects on our bodies, harnessing the good effects and eliminating the harmful. A new wave of adaptive biology is arriving, possible even new cells adaptations that can migrate the host to having more artificial biology parts, new types of cells and structures that can sustain human life in a lower gravity environment.

The next wave of materials science is closer than you may think, and new subatomic processing that creates new power sources and fuels potential, including anti-matter and anti-gravity solutions, as we discover the sub atomic world is more to do with waves than it is specific particles…as the fixed deterministic Newtonian Laws are considered incomplete and get a huge upgrade from non deterministic and non probabilistic science, that will produce entirely now outcomes, products, materials and evolutionary pathways…

Nick Ayton is Futurist Technologist, Writer, Filmmaker and Speaker.