A study titled “Biomanufacturing in Low Earth Orbit for Regenerative Medicine” and published in the specialized magazine Stem Cell Reports reveals that the microgravity of space could facilitate the accelerated production of stem cells, which could help treat diseases.
The research was led by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, led by Arun Sharma, a stem cell biologist, according to what was cited by the website of 20 minutes.
The scientist, researcher and director of the Smidt Institute for the Heart and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai, explained the findings of the study.
“We discovered that space flight and microgravity provide an optimal environment for biofabrication because it confers a series of very special properties to tissues and biological processes that can help mass-produce cells or other products in a way unreplicable on EarthSharma detailed.
Study can help save lives
The results of the research show how the accelerated production of stem cells can contribute to advances that save millions of lives, with the collaboration of astronauts in orbit.
“The last two decades have seen remarkable advances in regenerative medicineas well as exponential progress in the space technologies that allow exploring new opportunities in the space market”, adds the main author.
The potential that cells have to become any other type of cell and their ability to regenerate themselves are the properties highlighted by the study in the microgravity environment.
The use of stem cells, organoids or other tissues have been proposed as possible treatments for some diseases: “Stem cells produced in space can lead us to make bony or muscular structures that could be applied to diseases such as osteoporosis or other forms of accelerated bone aging and muscle wasting”.
Arun Sharma concluded: “In the next five years we could have a scenario where cells or tissues can be manufactured in a way that simply isn’t possible here on Earth.a”.