(NewsNation) — Traveling to space can take a toll on the human body, and new research shows it can also speed up aging of blood and immune cells.

In the study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers at the University of California, San Diego collected stem cells from bone marrow donated by people who underwent hip replacement surgery and put them inside "nanobioreactors," or small, transparent blood bags. Each sample was divided into two cell monitoring boxes, one going to space and the other staying on Earth.

Over the 32-45 days the stem cells spent in space, the fitness and function of the cells got worse, and showed several signs of aging like the diminished ability to rest and regenerate, increased signs of DNA damage and shorter telomeres, which are the protective caps

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