Dhruv Sareen, a researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, sent his own stem cells up into orbit on the International Space Station. His reason for doing so? To see if stem cells, a type of cell that can regenerate into almost any other cell in the body, can grow faster in a zero-G environment.
This experiment is the latest research project involving sending stem cells into space. Some, such as the one Dr. Sareen’s cells is involved in, have the goal of figuring out how to solve the issues with mass-producing stem cells in Earth’s environment. Others study how space travel affects cells in the body, and some help better understand diseases such as cancer.
The cells that the Cedars-Sinai team sent to space are what are known as “induced pluripotent”
stem cells. These cells are considered by many scientists to be the perfect starting materials for many different types of personalized, cell-based treatments.
Dr. Clive Svendsen, the executive director at Cedars-Sinai’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, said that “By pushing the boundaries like this, it’s knowledge and it’s science and it’s learning.”
Due to the Earth’s gravity, the current available technologies for producing stem cells doesn’t meet the criteria needed for commercial usage. This experiment is designed to pave the way for more stem cell research to figure out how to manufacture the billions of cells necessary for practical medical usage in orbit. “The impact could be huge,” Dr. Svendsen said.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689079038x413436966542486850/Do%20stem%20cells%20grow%20better%20in%20space_%20_%20KidsNews.pdf
This experiment is the latest research project involving sending stem cells into space. Some, such as the one Dr. Sareen’s cells is involved in, have the goal of figuring out how to solve the issues with mass-producing stem cells in Earth’s environment. Others study how space travel affects cells in the body, and some help better understand diseases such as cancer.
The cells that the Cedars-Sinai team sent to space are what are known as “induced pluripotent”
stem cells. These cells are considered by many scientists to be the perfect starting materials for many different types of personalized, cell-based treatments.
Dr. Clive Svendsen, the executive director at Cedars-Sinai’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, said that “By pushing the boundaries like this, it’s knowledge and it’s science and it’s learning.”
Due to the Earth’s gravity, the current available technologies for producing stem cells doesn’t meet the criteria needed for commercial usage. This experiment is designed to pave the way for more stem cell research to figure out how to manufacture the billions of cells necessary for practical medical usage in orbit. “The impact could be huge,” Dr. Svendsen said.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689079038x413436966542486850/Do%20stem%20cells%20grow%20better%20in%20space_%20_%20KidsNews.pdf
