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The world's first experiment to cultivate early-stage mammalian embryos in full microgravity.
The International Space Station has successfully grown mouse embryos that developed normally. This is the first study to indicate the possibility of human reproduction in space, a group of Japanese scientists has reported.
Researchers including Professor Teruhiko Wakayama of the Yamanashi University Center for Advanced Biotechnology and a team from the Japan Space Agency (JAXA) sent frozen mouse embryos aboard a rocket to the ISS in August 2021.
At the station, astronauts thawed the embryos using a special device and grew them for four days. Scientists said that embryos grown in microgravity normally developed into blastocysts-cells that turn into a fetus and placenta.
The experiment "clearly showed that gravity does not have a significant effect," according to the study published in the scientific journal iScience. Analysis of blastocysts sent back to Earth showed that there were no significant changes in the state of DNA and genes.
Yamanashi University and Riken National Research Institute said in a joint statement that this is "the first study of its kind to show that mammals can thrive in space." In the future, it is planned to transplant blastocysts grown on the ISS into mice to see if the mice can give birth to healthy offspring.
Such research may have important implications for future space exploration and colonization missions. As part of the Artemis program, NASA plans to send people back to the moon to explore the possibility of long-term residence there, which will help in preparing for a trip to Mars by the end of the 2030s.
The International Space Station has successfully grown mouse embryos that developed normally. This is the first study to indicate the possibility of human reproduction in space, a group of Japanese scientists has reported.
Researchers including Professor Teruhiko Wakayama of the Yamanashi University Center for Advanced Biotechnology and a team from the Japan Space Agency (JAXA) sent frozen mouse embryos aboard a rocket to the ISS in August 2021.
At the station, astronauts thawed the embryos using a special device and grew them for four days. Scientists said that embryos grown in microgravity normally developed into blastocysts-cells that turn into a fetus and placenta.
The experiment "clearly showed that gravity does not have a significant effect," according to the study published in the scientific journal iScience. Analysis of blastocysts sent back to Earth showed that there were no significant changes in the state of DNA and genes.
Yamanashi University and Riken National Research Institute said in a joint statement that this is "the first study of its kind to show that mammals can thrive in space." In the future, it is planned to transplant blastocysts grown on the ISS into mice to see if the mice can give birth to healthy offspring.
Such research may have important implications for future space exploration and colonization missions. As part of the Artemis program, NASA plans to send people back to the moon to explore the possibility of long-term residence there, which will help in preparing for a trip to Mars by the end of the 2030s.
