Researchers Culture Mouse Embryos in Space for the First Time

A group of Japanese scientists reported that mouse embryos were generated aboard the International Space Station and grew normally in the first study demonstrating that people may reproduce in space.

Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor at the University of Yamanashi’s Advanced Biotechnology Centre, and a team from the Japan Aerospace Space Agency (JAXA) launched frozen mouse embryos to the International Space Station (ISS) in August 2021.

The embryos were frozen and grown on the space station for four days by astronauts using a unique apparatus created for this purpose.

“The embryos cultured under microgravity conditions developed normally into blastocysts, cells that develop into the fetus and placenta”, the authors of the study stated.

The experiment clearly demonstrated that gravity had no significant effect, the researchers wrote in a study published online on Saturday in the scientific journal iScience.

They also stated that there were no major alterations in the condition of the DNA and genes after analyzing the blastocysts returned to their laboratory on Earth.

This is the first-ever study that shows mammals may be able to thrive in space, according to a joint statement released on Saturday by the University of Yamanashi and the national research institution Riken.

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