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Mouse embryos were thawed and grown on the International Space Station.
A group of Japanese scientists announced that mouse embryos cultured on the International Space Station developed normally in the first study showing it may be possible for humans to reproduce in space.
Researchers, including Professor Teruhiko Wakayama of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology at the University of Yamanashi and a team from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), sent frozen mouse embryos aboard a rocket to the ISS in August 2021.
The astronauts thawed the early-stage embryo using special equipment designed for this purpose and allowed it to grow on the station for four days.
“Embryos grown in microgravity conditions developed into blastocysts, cells that would normally develop into a fetus or placenta,” the scientists said.
The experiment “unequivocally demonstrated that gravity does not have a significant effect,” the researchers said in a study published online in the journal Science. iscience Saturday.
He also said that analysis of the blastocysts sent back to a laboratory on Earth revealed no significant changes in their DNA and genetic status.
This is “the first-ever study to demonstrate the possibility that mammals can thrive in space,” the University of Yamanashi and the national research institute RIKEN said in a joint statement on Saturday.
The statement said this was “the world’s first experiment to culture early-stage mammalian embryos in the full microgravity of the ISS.”
“In the future, we will need to implant blastocysts cultured in microgravity on the ISS into mice to see if the mice can give birth, and to confirm that the blastocysts are normal.” added.
Such research could be important for future space exploration and colonization missions.
Under its Artemis mission, NASA plans to send humans back to the moon to learn how to live there long-term in preparation for a trip to Mars in the late 2030s.