John Lennon did it for peace, now the European Space Agency is asking 14
people to stay in bed for science. Previous “bed rest” studies by the
agency—in which volunteers spend long periods lying tilted with their
heads slightly lower than their feet—have focused on the effects of
weightlessness by simulating the reduced amount of work the muscles and heart do
in space. The new three-month study will look at countermeasures, such as
exercise and drugs, to combat the bone and muscle loss encountered in space.
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