For the first time... scientists develop mouse embryos in space
Researchers on the International Space Station have developed mouse embryos that have been shown to develop normally, indicating the possibility of human reproduction in space, Japanese scientists said.
The researchers, including Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology at Yamanashi University, and a team from the Japanese space agency JAXA, sent frozen mouse embryos by rocket to the International Space Station in August 2021.
The astronauts on the station thawed the embryos using a device specially designed for this purpose, and implanted them on the station for four days. The scientists noted that "embryos that grew in microgravity conditions naturally developed into blastocysts, which are cells that develop into the fetus and placenta."
In a study published on the website of the scientific journal "I Science" on Saturday, the researchers confirmed that the experiment "clearly demonstrated that gravity does not have a significant effect" on the issue of rat reproduction. They noted that there were no significant changes in the state of the DNA and genes, after analyzing the blastocysts that were returned to laboratories on Earth.
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