A First in History: Mouse Embryos Were Grown in Space

First Elon Musk Many billionaires, including others, are taking steps to establish distant colonies in the future. Going to another planet or being able to live on another planet is part of the problem. Another part is reproductivethere are differing opinions on whether humans can reproduce outside the Earth’s atmosphere and what happens in microgravity and radiation.

According to a new study, humanity “Will we be able to reproduce outside our planet?” The answer to the question has become clear: Maybe. Maybe not a very good answer, but at least not a definitive no, so space colonies It may still be real.

First mammal embryos grown in space

For the first time in history, International Space StationMammalian embryos were created and grown in the microenvironment in . The International Space Station orbits about 400 kilometers above the planet’s surface. molecular biologist at Yamanashi University Teruhiko Wakayama In the study conducted under his leadership, it became clear that mouse embryos could survive, at least in the initial stages.

Wakayama said in a statement: “Pregnancy may be possible on Mars journeys because getting there more than six months will continue.” He stated that when that time comes, they will continue their research so that children can be born healthy.

In fact, the issue of pregnancy and reproduction in space is a subject that scientists have been working on for a long time. The pregnancy process is quite long and complex It can happen. That’s why different studies are carried out for each different stage. The embryos that the researchers developed in paraformaldehyde and preserved for four days were then sent back to the world for research.

According to this On the ISS or in microgravity environments Although embryos have a lower chance of survival, living embryos develop in the same way as their counterparts on our planet. It turned out that different problems could be seen in space fetuses. Future humans settling in space may look very different from their ancestors on Earth.