Outta This World

Stem cells hold much hope for medicine as they can become a range of different cell types. Researchers in labs across the globe are studying the biology of these specialised cells and testing ways to turn them into cardiac cells to treat heart conditions, for example. All this hype, but one major obstacle stopping such therapies becoming more commonplace is efficiently producing large batches of cells to use. One potential solution to this is travelling 250 miles above us on the International Space Station. This unique lab allows astronauts to perform experiments in microgravity and these near-zero gravity conditions may hold the secret to rapid mass production of stem cells for regenerative medicine. Astronauts are also working on projects to engineer stem cell-derived products like cardiac tissue (pictured) and model diseases which could form a futuristic roadmap of biomanufacturing to bring us new ways to live healthier lives.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Sophie Arthur

former Science Communications Officer MRC LMS

Formerly a stem cell biologist, Sophie has since moved into science communication working at the MRC LMS. She also writes an award winning science and education blog Soph talks science.

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• Image from work by Arun Sharma and colleagues
• Collaborative - including Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, LA, CA; Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc, Melbourne, FL; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA,USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Stem Cell Reports, December 2021