Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #32274: Space-Bone Science: How Microgravity Influences Human Bone Marrow Cells

What happens to your bone marrow when you're floating in space? The answer could lead to new treatments for blood diseases on Earth. The experiment 'Transduced Stromal Co-Cultures of Human Bone Marrow in Microgravity' investigates how microgravity affects the way human bone marrow cells behave, grow, and differentiate.

Led by Dr. Catriona Jamieson at UC San Diego, the research explores the behavior of stromal cells—supportive cells that help regulate the blood-forming cells of bone marrow. The experiment uses a co-culture method where multiple types of cells are grown together to better simulate the bone marrow environment. These cells were genetically modified (transduced) to track specific behaviors.

Why do this in space? On Earth, gravity affects how cells grow and interact. In microgravity, those forces disappear, allowing scientists to isolate and study the internal biochemical signals and interactions without gravitational influence. This could reveal new targets for treating leukemia and other blood disorders.

Space Tango provided the specialized hardware to safely culture these sensitive cells aboard the ISS. Researchers tracked cell signaling, proliferation, and how the environment influenced gene expression. The team hypothesized that microgravity might reduce stress-induced signals that lead to cell mutations.

The outcome of this research could be groundbreaking—understanding bone marrow function in a gravity-free environment might lead to innovations in regenerative medicine, especially for immune-compromised patients.

This experiment is a stellar example of how biomedical research in orbit benefits life on Earth.

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