Space is cool, but I didn't see any gravity related controls nor any other space specific controls.
Consider that the relationship between stress (HPA axis, etc.) and viral activation is pretty well known. Models of chronic rodent stress include constant loud noise, uncomfortable environmental scale (open spaces versus "comfortable" places with places to hide/nest), weird lighting and temperature, "violent" (freaking them out, not hurting them) handling, etc. These rodent models seem pretty similar to "put humans in a cramped little box, shake them around and mess with their sleep and eating schedules".
There's nothing novel and space specific here except for "going to space is stressful" and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
I would humbly suggest submarine crews as control group.
Canned air, tight space, weird sleep cycles, noise and artificial light. Submarine crews are even more isolated because they can't contact families while underway.
I'd imagine this whole "being strapped to a ton of explosives and using them to fly" moment is a tad bit more extreme and stressful than a submarine dive.
After that, they both have similar constant stress factors, but imho the launch alone is probably way more than what anybody on a submarine would go through.
Also airline crews? They get to do their high-pressure job in lower-than-normal air pressure, they get shaken around in a tin can and their sleep schedules are shot to hell.
FTAA - "Larger quantities and increased frequencies for these viruses were found during spaceflight as compared to before or after flight samples and their matched healthy controls." Further details such as graphs, p values, and references are also provided.
Consider that the relationship between stress (HPA axis, etc.) and viral activation is pretty well known. Models of chronic rodent stress include constant loud noise, uncomfortable environmental scale (open spaces versus "comfortable" places with places to hide/nest), weird lighting and temperature, "violent" (freaking them out, not hurting them) handling, etc. These rodent models seem pretty similar to "put humans in a cramped little box, shake them around and mess with their sleep and eating schedules".
There's nothing novel and space specific here except for "going to space is stressful" and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.