ReviewFrontiers in physiology2025
Immune challenges and pathogen risks in edible insects: safeguarding health in space life-support systems.
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Alternative High-Quality Hemolymph Extraction from AdultInsects · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As space agencies progress toward long-duration missions and extraterrestrial colonisation, Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) have become central to achieving closed-loop sustainability. Edible insects offer a highly efficient protein source suited for BLSS integration, yet the unique stressors of spaceflight, microgravity, ionising radiation, and limited microbial exposure, pose significant risks to insect immunity and pathogen dynamics. This review synthesises current research on insect immune function, microbiome stability, and disease susceptibility under space-relevant conditions, highlighting vulnerabilities introduced by physical, nutritional and behavioural stressors. We emphasise species-specific immune traits, life stage- and sex-dependent responses, and the contribution of natural behaviours and transgenerational immunity to colony resilience. Further, we examine the synergistic effects of the space environment and high-density rearing on pathogen transmission and virulence evolution. Mitigation strategies, including environmental controls, probiotic interventions and biosensor-based health monitoring, are discussed. By identifying critical knowledge gaps, particularly concerning immune suppression under microgravity and radiation, density-driven pathogen evolution, and the stability of behavioural immunity, we propose system-level responses to support robust insect health. Our synthesis advances the framework for designing resilient, health-optimised insect rearing systems for future space missions and terrestrial applications. Ensuring insect immune competence will be essential for ecological stability and food security in extraterrestrial environments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.