The abstract in PubMed or at the publisher’s site is linked when available and will open in a new window.

Papers deriving from NASA support:

  1. Schmidt MA, Schmidt CM, Schmidt JC, Meydan C, Afshin EE, Overbey EG, Kim J, Singh RS, Beheshti A, Mason CE.Systemic elevation of gut derived p-cresol during one year in space: Implications for brain, heart, bone, liver and microbiome in astronauts.Front Physiol. 2026 Sep 27;17:1878680.PI: C.E. MasonNote: ISS results. This article is part of Research Topic “Bioconvergence: A New Frontier for Understanding and Enhancing Human Adaptations to Extreme Environments” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/68632/bioconvergence-a-new-frontier-for-understanding-and-enhancing-human-adaptations-to-extreme-environments). The Research Topic also includes articles from previous Current Awareness Lists #1,166 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1637834, #1,172 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1634366, #1,215 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1824031, and #1,216 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1879838. This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 4.3

    Funding: “The study was supported by NASA: NNX14AH51G (All Twins PIs)…” “…NASA (NNX14AH50G, NNX17AB26G, 80NSSC25K7731)… We would like to thank the NASA JSC Nutritional Biochemistry Lab personnel, especially YaVonne Bourbeau, who led efforts on this project for project coordination, sample collection, processing, and analysis; the NASA Human Research Program’s ISS Medical Projects element…”
  2. Smith HH, Wong GM, Assalita SN, Zhang Z, House CH.The potential anaerobic cultivation of microbial biomass for astronaut nutrition during long-term spaceflight.Life. 2026 Sep 1;16(9):1469.Note: This article is a Perspective and is part of Section “Microbiology” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/microbiology). This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 3.9

    Funding: “We acknowledge funding for this work from NASA Award 80NSSC18K1140, NSF Award No. EF-1724099, the Ralph Steckler/Space Grant Space Colonization Research and Technology Development Opportunity under Award 09-STECKLER09-0022, and the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant program award 80NSSC20M0097.”
  3. Taylor TN, Young M, Spector ER, Kreykes A, Sibonga JD.Increased rates of hip fractures associated with longer spaceflight durations.Mayo Clin Proc. 2026 Oct 1;101(10):p1700-11.Note: From the abstract: “Follow-up group comparisons of fracture incidence data (surveyed between 2018 and 2022) were analyzed within the astronaut cohort. Analyzing within the astronaut cohort addressed biases associated with the perception of greater physical activity in astronauts as a discriminating risk factor for fractures. The number of fractures was modeled using count regression adjusting for (1) repeated measures within individuals across the follow-up groups, (2) differing lengths of surveillance for each individual, and (3) average age for members of the follow-up groups.” This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 6.5

    Funding: “Tasks associated with the collection and analysis of astronaut data and with the preparation of this paper were funded by the NASA Health and Medical Technical Authority and NASA Human Research Program.”
  4. Lenarczyk M, Kronenberg A, Kwok A, Borg A, Alsheikh AJ, Mathison AJ, Zimmermann MT, Lawton SBR, Raff H, Willey J, Komorowski RA, Urrutia R, Baker JE.Multiple simulated spaceflight stressors impact cardiac fibrosis, calcium dynamics, immune function, cytokines and gene variants in rat, Rattus norvegicus.PLoS One. 2026 Sep 30;21(9):e0357485.PI: J.E. BakerNote: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: Not available for this journal

    Funding: “JEB: 80NSSC19K0498 National Aeronautics and Space Administration https://www.nasa.gov/.”
  5. Bell ST, Landon LB, Dev SI, Miller JCW, Begerowski S, Whiting S, Anderson SR, Stosic MD, Williams TJ, Roma PG.The assessment of psychology in extreme environments (APEX) suite: Standardized measures for research and operations.Acta Astronaut. 2027 Jan;250:475-89.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 3.7

    Funding: “Funding for this project was provided by NASA’s Human Research Program’s Human Factors and Behavioral Performance Element to the Behavioral Health & Performance Laboratory under the tasks ‘Human Factors and Behavioral Performance Exploration Measures in HERA’ and ‘Generalizability of Operational Feasibility and Acceptability of HFBP Exploration Measures in Nezemnyy Eksperimental’nyy Kompleks (NEK)’ (Principal Investigator: S.T. Bell; P.G. Roma; T.J. Williams). LBL, SID, JCWM, SRB, SEW, SRA, MDS, TJW, PGR were supported by the Human Health and Performance Contract NNJ15HK11B.”
  6. Gan R, Chen J, Manuel G, Andaluz H, Tao WA, Corn RM, Burke DH, Luptak A, Golden BL.Engineering a ribozyme with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase activity.ACS Chem Biol. 2026 Sep 28. Online ahead of print.Journal Impact Factor: 3.6

    Funding: “This work was supported by the Pew Innovation Fund (to BLG and AL) and NASA ICAR 80NSSC21K0596 (to DHB, BLG, and AL).”
  7. Schuldt BR, Haworth-Staines D, Perez-Arevalo A, Broekaart DWM, Harlock A, Wang L, Bright A, Gallagher G, Rabinowitz G, Goate AM, Raj T, Pereira AC, Blanchard JW.A pericyte-to-myofibroblast transition links APOE4 to cerebrovascular degeneration.Cell. 2026 Sep 24. Online ahead of print.PI: J.W. BlanchardNote: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 45.1

    Funding: “This work was supported in part by NASA under contract #80ARC022CA004, the NIH/NIA (R01AG089533, UH3NS115064, and U54AG090669), the SWT Foundation, and the CureAlz Fund. B.R.S. was supported by NIH T32GM146636. A.C.P. was supported by NIH grants R01AG063819 and R01AG064020, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Sanford J. Grossman Charitable Trust, the Brian and Tania Higgins Charitable Foundation, the Carolyn and Eugene Mercy Research Gift, and the Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation.”
  8. Li C, T’ien JS.Minimization of coriolis effect on heat transfer over a partially heated wall in a rotating enclosure.Microgravity Sci Technol. 2026 Sep 17;38(5):66.PI: J.S. T’ienNote: This article may be obtained online without charge.

    Journal Impact Factor: 1.4

    Funding: “This work was supported by NASA (Grant number 80NSSC23M0035).”
  9. Liu J, Zhang J, Liu D, Luo K, Faghihi P, Yang S, Belosludtsev V, Liu T, Wang C, Garimella VS, Ganesan V, Saif MTA, Miljkovic N.Microbubble emission boiling reinterpreted: Condensation-driven oscillations enable heat transfer beyond the critical heat flux.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2026 Sep 23;123(39):e2612649123.PI: N. MiljkovicJournal Impact Factor: 9.5

    Funding: “This work was supported by ACRC, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; NASA Grant No. 80NSSC22K0294; WPI-I2CNER, Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology; and Office of Naval Research.”
  10. Rivera J, Liveretou C, Fernandez-Pello C, Gollner MJ, Olson S, Ferkul P, Stocker D.Gravity and thickness effects on the path from ignition to extinction in opposed flame spread over PMMA rods.Proc Combust Inst. 2026;42:106460.PI: C. Fernandez-PelloJournal Impact Factor: 4.6

    Funding: “The work presented here was supported by NASA Grants 80NSSC17M0065 and 80NSSC22K0582.”
  11. Thomsen M, Fernandez-Pello C, Urban DL, Olson SL, Ferkul PV.Extinction of concurrent flame spread over a thin solid.Proc Combust Inst. 2026;42:106538.PI: C. Fernandez-PelloJournal Impact Factor: 4.6

    Funding: “The work presented here was supported by NASA Grants 80NSSC17M0065 and 80NSSC22K0582, and ANID project Fondecyt Iniciación 11240482.”

Other papers of interest:

  1. Liang R, Xu Q, Ren J, Wang L, Cheng X, Zhao F, Xu J, Yang J, Ming D.RTMS mitigates simulated spaceflight-induced emotional dysfunction through VEGFR-2-mediated neuroprotection.Brain Behav. 2026 Sep 28;16(10):e71799.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  2. Bergauer A, Urevc J, Steuber B, Schmid-Zalaudek K, Pivec V, Goswami N.Internal jugular venous flow responses to graded lower body negative pressure: A sex-stratified analysis.Front Physiol. 2026 Sep 14;17:1873225.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  3. Modi A, Held KD, Pajevic PD, Miyamoto DT.Ionizing radiation effects on bone with relevance to deep-space exploration.Radiat Res. 2026 Sep 23. Online ahead of print.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  4. Hanai R, Hirohata M, Sugita Y, Kondo H, Naiki Y, Nishikawa K, Hida M, Hasegawa Y, Miyazawa K, Maeda H.Species-dependent aggregation of oral bacteria under simulated microgravity.Life (Basel). 2026 Aug 25;16(9):1402.Note: A 3D clinostat was used in this study to simulate microgravity. This article is part of Section “Microbiology” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/microbiology) and may be obtained online without charge.
  5. Lentini V, Uras G, Manca A, El Faqir MA, Lucas-Del-Pozo S, Deiana N, Cao G, Schapira AHV, Pantaleo A.Simulated microgravity accelerates α-synuclein aggregation and induces oxidative stress in an in vitro Parkinson’s disease model.Life Sci Space Res. 2026 Sep 29. Online ahead of print.
  6. Shah N.Transcription factor activity divergence across muscle atrophy conditions: A comparative analysis of spaceflight, aging, and disuse using decoupleR.PLoS One. 2026 Oct 1;21(10):e0359659.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  7. Shen Y, Yu W, Liu Y, Wu Z, Liu Y, Wang R, Hou H, Cai L, Huang Y, Qiao PG, Ren P, Wang Z.Longitudinal alterations in lower extremity quantitative MRI metrics under simulated microgravity and their associations with systemic biomarkers.npj Microgravity. 2026 Aug 1;12(1):79.Note: Head-down tilt bedrest study. This article may be obtained online without charge.
  8. Asprella Libonati G, Asprella Libonati F.Learning gravity: An innately constrained bayesian model of human vestibular development.Audiol Res. 2026 Sep 11;16(5):135.Note: This article is part of Section “Balance” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/audiolres/sections/balance) and may be obtained online without charge.
  9. Burtscher M, Amaru R, Burtscher J, Hüfner K, Gassmann M.Proposal for defining the severity of environmental hypoxia.Front Physiol. 2026 Sep 25;17:1985822.Note: This article is part of Research Topic “Physiological and Pathological Responses to Hypoxia and High Altitude, Volume IV” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/74860/physiological-and-pathological-responses-to-hypoxia-and-high-altitude-volume-iv/articles). The Research Topic also includes articles from previous Current Awareness Lists #1,183 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1724998, #1,186 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1746894, #1,198 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1781613, #1,200 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1834288, and #1,215 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1923338. This article may be obtained online without charge.
  10. Goker S, Lee J, Csikász-Nagy A, Hong CI.From timekeeping to divisions-Molecular links between circadian rhythms and cell cycle.FEBS Lett. 2026 Sep 26. Review. Online ahead of print.Note: This article may be obtained online without charge.
  11. Stronati A, Macchioni G, Racca A, Santucci D, Cerri M.Neurobehavioral consequences of the 5′-AMP-induced torpor-like hypothermic state.Life (Basel). 2026 Sep 17;16(9):1561.Note: This article is part of Section “Physiology and Pathology” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/Physiology_and_Pathology) and may be obtained online without charge.
  12. Zhao X, Zhang J, Li Z, Sun Q, Xu L, Xue T, Zhao J, Guo X, Zhang R, Xie X, Yan Z, Hu Z, Zhang S, Shi F.Mechanical unloading inhibits osteoblast differentiation via downregulation of OGT-mediated O-GlcNAcylation.Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2026 Sep 20;48(9):961.Note: This article is part of Section “Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cimb/sections/BMCB) and may be obtained online without charge.
  13. Pannico A, Duri LG, De Pascale S, Arouna N, Troise AD, Ferracane R, Esposito M, Caira S, Caporale AG, Cimmino L, Aversano R, Scaloni A, De Pascale S, Paradiso R.Multi-omics analyses to assess the effects of multi-layer cultivation with supplemental LED lighting on potato yield and quality.Front Plant Sci. 2026 Aug 18;17:1913161.Note: This article is part of Research Topic “Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Stress Resistance and Quality Formation in Root and Tuber Crops” (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/74517/molecular-mechanisms-regulating-stress-resistance-and-quality-formation-in-root-and-tuber-crops) and may be obtained online without charge.

astrobiology, Microgravity, NASA, space biology, space medicine, spaceline,

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp...

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *