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Air & Space

Why Sex in Space Is a Bad Idea

Star Trek Sexy Costumes

Captain Kirk combined sex appeal with space exploration on 'Star Trek.' But let's hope that sex appeal didn't lead to much sex: New research indicates that babies wouldn't develop properly in outer space. (CBS)

Embryonic stem cells behave very differently outside the pull of Earth's gravity, researchers suggest -- a finding leading scientists to fret that procreation in space may be fraught with peril.




"Our research is headed toward creating countermeasures that can be utilized by biomedical intervention for astronauts," said researcher Helder Marcal, a tissue engineer at the University of New South Wales in Australia.





"The simulated microgravity experiments we are investigating don't seem to suggest a very positive outcome," Marcal said.


"The effect that microgravity may have on a growing embryo or fetus would be similar to an adult body -- however, much more detrimental," Marcal said. "The adult body can adapt to some microgravity space environments -- however, what remains totally unknown is if an embryo can adapt to such an environment too."

The researchers now aim to decipher why exactly microgravity is having these molecular effects. "What we are almost certain of is that the human body depends and relies on gravity for some mechanical or circulatory feedback," Marcal said.

Mechanical feedback is needed by bone, while circulatory feedback is needed by blood vessels. "Vessel walls become weak and our circulation and immune system becomes compromised," Marcal explained. 


"Thus we are hoping to combine and complement our ground-based experiments with those in real space conditions," said researcher Brendan Burns, a biologist at the University of New South Wales.

"Human procreation in space is inevitable, I believe," Marcal said.

When it comes to whether or not medical interventions might protect embryos and fetuses from the hazards of microgravity, "therapeutic and pharmaceutical intervention may not be the optimum outcome," Marcal said. "Humans may have to consider that in the not so distant future, genetic engineering our bodies may the way forward if we are to explore planets in our solar system. However, this raises other ethical and moral issues."


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