Skip to main content

The Digest: 20 Mice Are Going to Space To Help Us Figure out How to Survive on Mars

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MOUSEKIND. Friday morning, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It’s destination? The International Space Station (ISS). Though unmanned, the rocket is carrying some very important passengers: 20 laboratory mice.

The mice are part of a study by Northwestern University’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology (CSCB). The plan: ten will spend a record 90 days in orbit, while the other 10 will return to Earth after 30 days. The researchers will see how space affects the mice’s circadian rhythms (biological processes that occur in 24-hour cycles), microbiome (the bacteria and other microorganisms that live in and on the body), and other physiological processes.

TWINSIES. This new study builds upon the another also the CSCB researchers worked on: NASA’s Twins Study. For that project, astronaut Scott Kelly spent one year aboard the ISS while his identical twin brother Mark (also an astronaut) stayed on Earth, serving as something of a control. Earlier this year, NASA released the study’s preliminary findings, noting that Scott’s time in space had affected the expression of 7 percent of his genes.

The 20 mice heading toward the ISS also have identical siblings that will remain on Earth at a NASA research facility. There, they’ll experience the exact same conditions as their high-flying siblings — the same lighting, the same temperatures, the works — just on a three-day delay.

While mice and humans are biological different (obviously), the hope is this near-exact replication of conditions will provide an even more accurate account of space’s impact on the body than the Twins Study. After all, while Scott was aboard the ISS, his brother was living his own life on Earth, and the things he did could have had some impact on the study’s results.

THE PATH TO MARS. We already know of a myriad of health risks linked to space exposure —  vision loss, cancer, psychological ailments — but we don’t really know how a long time in space might affect the human body. Given that a mission to Mars will likely take several years, we need to figure that out before we send anyone to our planetary neighbor.

While 90 days might not seem long, it’s equivalent to nine years of our lives, so these little astronaut mice might hold the key to figuring out what happens when we spend a significant period of our lives beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

READ MORE: Gutsy Mice Blast Off In Northwestern-Led Space Project [Northwestern University]

The post The Digest: 20 Mice Are Going to Space To Help Us Figure out How to Survive on Mars appeared first on Futurism.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Only Version of Return of the King Worth Watching Missing From Max After Streaming Bug

Screenshot: Warner Bros. Bad news for Max subscribers who’ve made re-watching The Lord of the Rings extended editions an annual New Year tradition: the third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King — which just celebrated its 20th anniversary! —is only available to stream in its theatrical version. No ancient evil is to blame, thankfully; it’s an unspecified “tech issue,” according to a Max spokesperson who responded to a comment request from Vulture after the issue was noted by dismayed fans on Reddit . The fact that The Return of the King extended edition is merely temporarily unavailable is actually good news given Max’s track record for removing content in the past, and the explanation makes sense considering The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers remain available in both their theatrical and extended editions. The Max spokesperson assured Vulture that The Return of the King extended edition will be, ah, returning soon to the service, though as of this writing i...

Unicorn Jerky Is Not Only the Perfect Name for a CBD Candy Edible, It's Also 20% Off, and Proceeds Go to The Trevor Project [Exclusive]

Unicorn Jerky CBD Candy | $24 | Sunday Scaries | Promo Code UJSUPPORT20 Unicorn Jerky (Subscribe & Save) | $19 | Sunday Scaries | Promo Code UJSUPPORT20 Read more...

You Can Visit Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in Hollywood

Image: Universal Pictures Just in time for Halloween and for the release of Blumhouse and Universal Pictures’ Five Nights at Freddy ’s fans can visit a pop-up location of the fictional franchise from the game and film. That’s right, a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza has mysteriously appeared in Hollywood. Like in the game and upcoming film, it’s a run-down spot that’s been closed down due to some mysterious activity within. Unfortunately, you can’t actually go in unless you’re hired as a security guard (kidding)—it’s just a facade for photo-ops you can visit. Check out the video captured by deadboifilms on TikTok below at the location on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood (near the Chateau Marmont Hotel). If you want to encounter the animatronic band of fuzzy and totally friendly creatures from the game, you’ll have to visit Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights, there’s a walk-through in the DreamWorks theater lobby that’s been taken over by Blumhouse which features the real Jim ...