It would be a good idea for heart patients not to spend too much time lying horizontally on bed. This is because in this position, the effect of gravity is more on the heart.

This is one of the spin-offs from space science, believe it or not!

Explaining this, Marc Heppener, Chief, Science and Applications, European Space Agency (ESA) said: “There is a term called the cardiac output which roughly put is the amount of blood pumped by the heart per stroke. Our results on board the ISS (international space station) have shown that this is better in space with near nil gravity than on earth. That is how we deduce that lying down would not be good as it puts the heart under maximum stress of gravity. While upright, the stress (from gravity) is negligible”.

However, he is careful in adding that these are very preliminary findings. “Like in any clinical tests, we must repeat the experiment many times and with many people. Any conclusions will have to wait for a period of 6-7 years.”

From the same principle, he notes that immersing a heart patient in water would be a good idea. “We cannot take them to space but we can give such tips. That is why such experiments are very exciting because we are working on real problems.”

Among some of the other experiments the ESA is conducting on the ISS are radiation effects. Naturally, with many nations training sights on the moon, Mars and beyond, it makes sense to prepare mankind for the rigours of space.

“Astronauts are protected to a large extent but yes we definitely are exposing them to greater risks than on earth,” he adds.

Another interesting experiment is to grow protein crystals as these are large molecules and needs to be crystallised for analysis, he says. Proteins were found to crystallise better in space than on earth, but “this is not as good as it should be.

At least 30-60 per cent of them grown in space could be better”. The growth of plant roots is another aspect being studied.

The ISS is almost 60 per cent complete.

The ESA will be launching one of its own modules called the Columbus later this year which will incorporate more experiments on material science, combustion and life sciences.