PCA Skin To Send Skin Aging Study Into Space on Feb. 19 – happi.com

First it was oral care biofilms, now it is skin care. Colgate-Palmolive, through its PCA Skin brand, is sending new research into space this weekend.NASA and commercial cargo provider Northrop Grummanare targetingthis Saturday, Feb. 19, for the launch of the company's 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station. In the more 8,200 pounds ofresearch, crew supplies, and hardware, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus is Colgate-Palmolives investigation that will leverage the acceleration ofskin aging in microgravityto help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin. The study comes from Colgate-Palmolove-owned skin care brand PCA Skin.

Last summer, NASA's SpaceX Dragon returned to earth with a Colgate experiment on board. In December, Tide detergent headed into orbit aboard SpaceX Dragon.

We know from historical data that space travel and lengthy exposure to microgravity have profound effects on the skin. Astronauts in space experience thinning, dry skin that is susceptible to cuts. While these changes are comparable to those observed during the normal aging process on Earth, it appears that they are accelerated in microgravity, said Lia Arvanitidou, global technology and design vice president for Colgate-Palmolives skin health businesses. Through this exciting endeavor, well be able to gather new data on the skin health biomarkers behind those changes - data which will be available faster than it would be on Earth, said Arvanitidou.As microgravity accelerates changes in skin that mimic aging,exposure to it aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is crucial for rapid identification of aging-related alterations in skin physiology and for prediction and mitigation of aging-associated skin problems.To investigate the effects of microgravity on skin, an in vitro 3D human skin model is exposed to the microgravity environment aboard the ISS. Analyses of molecular markers indicate the level of tissue stress and recovery responses. The microgravity-induced molecular blueprint is compared to that from skin tissues cultured as ground controls. Observed differences in molecular patterns can offer unique insights on the biological pathways involved in normal skin homeostasis and clues on mechanisms of their disruption during aging. These insights will be used to design molecular strategies for skin health management interventions.

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PCA Skin To Send Skin Aging Study Into Space on Feb. 19 - happi.com