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Agence France-Presse

Mouse embryos have been grown on the International Space Station and developed normally in the first study indicating it could be possible for humans to reproduce in space, a group of Japanese scientists said.
The researchers, including Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor of University of Yamanashi’s Advanced Biotechnology Centre, and a team from the Japan Aerospace Space Agency (JAXA), sent frozen mouse embryos on board a rocket to the ISS in August 2021.
Astronauts thawed the early-stage embryos using a special device designed for this purpose and grew them on the station for four days.
“The embryos cultured under microgravity conditions developed” normally into blastocysts, cells that develop into the fetus and placenta, the scientists said.
As Japan pushes to sell Southeast Asia more seafood, will consumers bite?
The experiment “clearly demonstrated that gravity had no significant effect,” the researchers said in a study that was published online in the scientific journal iScience on Saturday.
They also said there were no significant changes in condition of the DNA and genes, after they analysed the blastocysts that were sent back to their laboratories on Earth.
This is “the first-ever study that shows mammals may be able to thrive in space,” University of Yamanashi and national research institute Riken said in a joint statement on Saturday.
It is “the world’s first experiment that cultured early-stage mammalian embryos under complete microgravity of ISS,” the statement said.

“In the future, it will be necessary to transplant the blastocysts that were cultured in ISS’s microgravity into mice to see if mice can give birth” to confirm that the blastocysts are normal, it added.
Such research could be important for future space exploration and colonisation missions.
Under its Artemis programme, Nasa plans to send humans back to the Moon to learn how to live there long-term to help prepare a trip to Mars, sometime towards the end of the 2030s.


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Japan

Japanese scientists grow mouse embryos in space for first time. Are human births next?

Healthy offspring of mice derived from space preserved spermatozoa in a 2020 image provided by the University of Yamanashi. Photo: AFP

An HII-A rocket blasts off in Kagoshima, Japan on September 7, 2023. The success of future space colonisation missions partly depends on the ability of humans to reproduce in space. Photo: AP

As Japan pushes to sell Southeast Asia more seafood, will consumers bite?

Japanese Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita and Malaysian celebrity Amber Chia promote Japanese scallops to shoppers at a Don Don Donki outlet in Kuala Lumpur on October 4. Photo: AP

Seafood is seen in a Japanese sushi restaurant in Beijing in August. Photo: EPA-EFE

Buyers inspect seafood at the Numanouchi fish port in Iwaki, Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, in August. Photo: Bloomberg

Japanese employees ‘uncomfortable’ with taking leave as hardworking ethic remains strong

People crossing in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. Photo: Kyodo

Two young women outside Shinjuku station in Tokyo. More Generation Z Japanese workers want to have a better work-life balance, according to a study. Photo: AFP

Japan launches rocket, moon lander to study origins of the universe as global space race intensifies

An HII-A rocket blasts off from the launch pad at Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima, Japan on Thursday. Photo: AP

Japan was able to launch its H3 rocket in March this year but it had to be destroyed following a failed ignition in the second stage of the mission. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

News

Asia

East Asia

The study conducted on the International Space Station shows mammals could ‘thrive in space’, according to the scientists
Such research could be important for future space colonisation missions including a trip to Mars


Can humans reproduce in space in future? A successful test conducted on mouse embryos by Japanese scientists indicates it is possible.


Space

International Space Station (ISS)

Japanese scientists grow mouse embryos in space for first time. Are human births next?

The study conducted on the International Space Station shows mammals could ‘thrive in space’, according to the scientists Such research could be important for future space colonisation missions including a trip to Mars

The study conducted on the International Space Station shows mammals could ‘thrive in space’, according to the scientists

Such research could be important for future space colonisation missions including a trip to Mars