Human Muscle-on-a-Chip Sent to Space to Study Microgravity Effects

Study in a Sentence: A human muscle-on-a-chip launched to the International Space Station accurately modeled the effects of microgravity and demonstrated the success of two drugs in preventing these effects.

Healthy for Humans: Microgravity exposure can lead to muscle atrophy and impair muscle regeneration. As space exploration becomes increasingly feasible, interest in developing drugs to address the effects of microgravity is growing, and small, portable models like the muscle-on-a-chip are necessary.

Redefining Research: Research on the effects of microgravity on humans has been slow due to the limited number of people exposed to the conditions of space travel. This human muscle-on-a-chip technology successfully mimics the effects of microgravity after only seven days, making it a feasible platform to demonstrate the efficacy of muscle regeneration drugs in space conditions.