Biomedical experiments on the ISS
NASA has sent a compact DNA sequencer to the ISS
On July 18, SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship set off for the International Space Station (ISS). Among other cargo, he delivered a portable sequencer MinION into orbit, which fits in the palm of his hand. With it, astronauts will be able to track their health in real time.
Until now, to analyze the "cosmic" DNA, it was necessary to prepare a sample on the ISS, and then send it to Earth for sequencing and further research. To conduct similar experiments in real time, scientists from NASA sent a portable DNA sequencer MinION to the ISS. Astronauts will have to check whether DNA sequencing is possible in microgravity. The test set of samples contains viral, bacterial and mouse DNA.
MinION is a development of the British company Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The compact device weighs only 120 grams and fits in the palm of your hand. Unlike many other sequencers, MinION works with individual DNA molecules and is designed for fast real-time analysis.
Scientists hope that MinION will help track the health of the crew and the spread of microbes and even possibly detect extraterrestrial life forms based on DNA.
More information about which devices besides the DNA sequencer went to the ISS is reported on the NASA website (What's On Board the Next SpaceX Cargo Launch?).
(For biomedical experiments, equipment will also be delivered to the ISS to study the mechanisms of bone loss and the properties of heart muscle cells in weightlessness - VM).
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20.07.2016