‘Abnormal growth of stem cells in space’

May 12, 2010 |

Washington: Human stem cells grown in microgravity generate problematic proteins that may lead to bone deterioration, a new study has claimed, raising questions about the viability of long-term human voyages into space.
The study conducted at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology found that human stem cells grown in a rotating vessel to simulate microgravity are vastly different from those developed under normal conditions on earth. The researchers, who used a Nasa-developed bioreactor to grow cells from a human embryonic stem cell line, discovered that 64 per cent of the proteins found in the stem cells grown in simulated microgravity were not in control samples, the Discovery News reported.

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