Mouse embryos were grown in space for the first time

Mouse embryos were cultured aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and developed normally, according to a Japanese study published in the scientific journal iScience, Saturday October 28. It is “the first ever study showing that mammals might be able to thrive in space”highlighted Yamanashi University and the Riken National Research Institute.

The researchers, including Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor at Yamanashi University’s Center for Advanced Biotechnology, and a team from Japan’s Jaxa space agency, sent frozen mouse embryos aboard a rocket to the ISS in August 2021. The astronauts thawed the embryos at an early stage, using a specially designed device, and cultivated them on board the station for four days.

Embryos returning to Earth for further testing

The experience “clearly demonstrated that gravity had no significant effect”, noted the researchers. The latter did not observe any particular changes in the state of the DNA and genes, after analyzing the blastocysts (cells developing into fetus and placenta) which were sent back to their laboratories on Earth. “In the future, it will be necessary to transplant blastocysts grown in microgravity on the ISS into mice to see if the mice can give birth.”in order to confirm that the blastocysts are normal, specify Yamanashi University and the Riken Institute.

This research could prove crucial for future space exploration and colonization missions. As part of its Artemis program, NASA plans to send humans back to the Moon, in order to learn how to live there in the long term and to prepare for a trip to Mars at the end of the 2030s.