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Is Space The Key To Unlocking The Future Of Medicine?

Space medicine started with the idea of leaving Earth to advance medical research. This idea came about during the early stages of space exploration. NASA needed to justify the high cost of up to 50 yearly flights. They proposed that astronauts could do more than one job during their time in space. They could help find a cure for diseases like cancer and many others that affect people.

Exploring Biology In Zero Gravity

In space, where gravity is absent, scientists find it easier to study biology’s complexities. Earth’s gravitational pull often masks cell communication methods, complicating our understanding of cell behaviour.

  • Keeping stem cells pure and useful for a long time becomes challenging due to Earth’s gravity, which continually influences them to develop.
  • Studying the intricate crystal structures of crucial proteins, such as those associated with cancer, viruses, genetic disorders, and heart disease, is made more difficult by gravity.
  • These protein crystals need to be grown from scratch for us to understand how a tumour or virus evolves, or to find potential sites for new drug treatments. This is only possible in space where there is no gravity.
  • When these delicate crystals are grown on Earth, they are affected by gravity, which distorts their true appearance.

A New Era Of Space Bioprinting

Space has opened a new frontier in medical innovation, with the 3D BioFabrication Facility and Advanced Space Experiment Processor being employed to explore the possibilities of developing human tissue in zero gravity. This could redefine medical science on Earth.

  • The World Economic Forum’s 2023 report underscored the need for innovation in healthcare to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges.
  • The report emphasizes the importance of investment in healthcare that promotes equality, resilience, innovation, and sustainability.
  • One example of such innovation is the potential to fabricate organs in space for transplantation on Earth.
  • The 3D printer aboard the International Space Station has already initiated this process by printing a meniscus for a human knee.
  • Bio-inks, which might include stem cells or specific cell types such as muscle, nerve, or vasculature cells, are used in the bioprinting process.
  • This technology combines these cells with a nutrient media to keep them alive and functioning.

Space-Based Stem Cell Research: A New Frontier

Stem cell research is leaping into space, and the early results are promising. Scientists are exploring if healthier stem cells can be grown in space, which could open new doors for regenerative medicine.

  • Stem cell-based treatments have been challenging to develop due to cost, inefficiencies, and the poor quality of resulting cells.
  • The typical stem cell reprogramming yield is merely 100 successful cells out of a million, and these cells often fail to integrate properly when transplanted into the body.
  • A team of scientists at Ceders-Sinai in Los Angeles is partnering with NASA to experiment with stem cell growth in space.
  • They send stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS), and monitor their growth through a live video feed from Earth.
  • Preliminary results suggest that stem cells might grow better in space than on Earth.
  • The practicality of such a method will depend on the significant benefits over Earth-based methods, given the high costs involved in space expeditions.
  • If space-grown cells prove to be of considerably higher quality, it might be feasible to manufacture stem cell-based therapies in space and return them to Earth for transplantation.

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