for first time scientists grow mouse embryos in space says new study

Scientists have grown vegetables on the International Space Station (ISS), but their goal is even greater. Scientists are working in this direction to make reproduction possible for humans in space. Japanese scientists have achieved great success in this direction. A group of scientists have said that they have developed mouse embryos in the International Space Station. This indicates that it may be possible for humans to reproduce in space. Professor Teruhiko Wakayama of Yamanashi University's Advanced Biotechnology Center and a team from the Japan Aerospace Space Agency (JAXA) sent frozen mouse embryos to the ISS with the help of a rocket in August 2021.

After reaching space, the embryos were normalized from frozen through a special instrument and then they were developed in the space station for 4 days.

According to the report of NDTV, the study related to this has been published in a journal named iScience. In this, researchers have said that gravity did not have any significant effect on the fetuses. When the blastocysts of the embryos were tested in the laboratory on Earth, it was found that there was no significant change in the DNA and gene status of the embryos.

Japan's Yamanashi University and National Research Institute said in a statement that this is the first study that shows that mammals may be able to thrive in space. This is the world's first study, in which mammalian embryos have been cultured in the ISS.

However, the study says that in future it has to be seen whether blastocysts cultured in microgravity will be able to give birth to rats when they are transplanted into rats. This study may be important for future space missions.