Can your brain handle outer space?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Davide Marotta and team from New York wondered how gravity affects the brain. Combining different types of sticky brain cells, they made tissue-like structures called organoids.
And… BLAST OFF! Organoids were sent to the International Space Station, while others stayed behind. Some even included stem cells from individuals with Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.
Five weeks later, the space brains returned to Earth for analysis.
And? Space organoids mature FASTER! They develop capable cells, ready to work quicker than Earth samples. Over NINE HUNDRED gene expression differences were identified between Earth and space organoids.
More studies are underway! But in the meantime, bigger brains are cosmic!
Reference: Marotta, D., Ijaz, L., Barbar, L., Nijsure, M., Stein, J., Pirjanian, N., Kruglikov, I., Clements, T., Stoudemire, J., Grisanti, P., Noggle, S.A., Loring, J.F., Fossati, V. Effects of microgravity on human iPSC-derived neural organoids on the International Space Station. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, Volume 13, Issue 12, Pages 1186–1197, (2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/stcltm/szae070