Science lies still

Earlier this year, Dorota Tataruch spent two months lying around in bed with her feet up, 24 hours a day, all in the name of science. Tataruch, a sports-loving 25-year-old from Poland who lives in Sweden and studies in Italy, was one of 12 women who agreed to undertake a 60-day period of bed rest as part of a study designed to simulate the effects of weightlessness on the human body so that researchers could examine possible countermeasures.Tataruch and her fellow volunteers lay in beds inclined at an angle of 6 degrees, with their feet slightly higher than their heads, to induce the same conditions in the body as those experienced during long periods of weightlessness. They were taking part in the Women International Simulation Experiment (WISE), sponsored by the European Space Agency, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the National Center of Space Studies (CNES), and carried out by the Institute for Space Physiology and Medicine (MEDES), in Toulouse, France.To study the effects of measures to counter the loss of muscle, fluid, and bone mass, and the reduction of cardiac function and movement, four of the women, including Tataruch, were given amino acid supplements with every meal. Another four undertook regular lying-down exercise, while the remaining women served as controls."I'm normally very physically active, so it was quite difficult for me," says Tataruch. "Not so much staying in bed and not moving, but not being able to get physically tired." Others found it hard to be so totally reliant on others for so long, she says. Eating, reading, studying – in fact, everything – was conducted lying down: "If we needed a shower, they brought a special plastic-covered bed into our room, we rolled onto it, and they wheeled us into the shower room, everything head down."Within hours of beginning the study, Tataruch experienced a feeling of pressure in her head, but the sensation didn't last long. "The doctors told us we might get some headaches or backache, but I didn't," she says. Within two or three weeks, she began to notice her muscles wasting, particularly in her legs. Her body started to stabilize in the second month, although by the time she was returned to the upright in early June, she had lost about 5 kg of body weight.Despite the discomfort, all 12 volunteers persevered to the end, says Peter Jost, WISE coordinator. And although it is too soon to talk about definitive results yet, "it was clear that both interventions did have benefits for the health of the subjects."To complete their investigations, Jost and colleagues are planning a second phase of the WISE study to begin in September. Another 12 women between 25 and 40 years of age who are healthy and don't smoke are "urgently needed," Jost says. Citizens of the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland can take part, as well as US or Canadian citizens living in Europe.Having been through the experience, would Tataruch recommend it to others? Participants were paid €15,200 for their trouble (although EU regulations stipulate that the amount be paid out in installments over coming years). But for Tataruch it wasn't about the money. "It was really a great challenge. It was something that I would never have experienced in my normal life. I just wanted to check that I could do it," she says. "I think it made me understand a few things about myself, and it turned out to be really interesting, because there were plenty of scientists around to answer my questions."Still, she acknowledges, this type of study isn't going to appeal to everyone. "But if you're a tough enough person," she says, "it'll be a beautiful experience for you."

Science lies still

Earlier this year, Dorota Tataruch spent two months lying around in bed with her feet up, 24 hours a day, all in the name of science.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of