Artificial organs in orbit

China has launched a program to grow human organs in space

The first Tianzhou-1 space truck has already delivered stem cells into orbit, China Daily reports

Nikolay Selishchev, TASS

Scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KAN) have launched an ambitious program to grow human organs in zero gravity. According to the China Daily newspaper, for this purpose, the first space truck of the People's Republic of China "Tianzhou-1" delivered stem cells into orbit, which are expected to become building materials for various organs of the body.

"Previously, as part of experiments conducted on Earth as a simulation of microgravity, we found that the stem cells of mice (in space) capable of sharing. We have also identified a key gene responsible for such transformations," KANG Lei Xiaohua, an employee who is directly involved in this project, told reporters. "We are going to grow organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver and spleen."

"We hope to come to a basic understanding of how microgravity affects the process of cell reproduction and division," added his colleague Duan Enkui.,

At the moment, experiments at Tianzhou-1 are conducted remotely using computers and automation, but in the future, Chinese specialists are going to take a direct part in conducting experiments at the orbital station.

China is consistently implementing a program to build its own orbital station, which should be put into operation by 2020. The Tianzhou-1 mission is part of a program to develop appropriate technologies. The space truck left the Earth with the help of the Changzheng-7 launch vehicle (The Great Trek - 7), which allows vehicles weighing up to 13.5 tons to be placed into low Earth orbit. It was first launched in June last year from the Wenchang Cosmodrome (southern Hainan Province), marking the beginning of a new stage in the development of Chinese cosmonautics.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  25.04.2017