[ad_1]
NASA scientists have recently sent mice flying in space – literally.
To better understand the effects of microgravity on the human body, researchers from the government agency have sent rodents living in specialized habitat in the International Space Station. The mice were chosen because their "biology has similarities with human body systems," according to the NASA blog dedicated to the experiment.
ELON MUSK WILL HELP NASA SAVE THE LAND OF A COLLISION ASTEROIDS
After the mice arrived at the space station, scientists observed the differences between "space mice" and those that remained on Earth.
Mice in the space seemed to adapt to their new environment of weightlessness, even going as far as to adopt "typical mouse behaviors" such as grooming, feeding and eating. interaction with each other, among other normal activities.
"Rodents quickly adapted to their new weightlessness situation, for example by anchoring to the wall of the habitat with their hind legs or tail and lengthening their bodies. This pose was similar to that of mice on Earth standing on their hind legs to explore their environment, "says NASA in the blog article.
That said, the mice seemed to have a hard time adjusting to their new zero gravity environment at first. The video broadcast by NASA shows many creatures floating aimlessly up and around the cage.
Eventually, however, rodents found things and exhibited behavior that was not observed in mice on Earth. For example, the youngest mice "were more physically active than their counterparts in the field" and "were also beginning to show a new behavior that scientists describe as a" race tracker ": running around the cage. It even evolved to become a group activity, "according to the space organization, which noted that the behavior could be related to stress.
But this hamster-like behavior in a cage is important in terms of research, because its ability to "grab objects" in the habitat and, subsequently, to move could help scientists learn more about the effects of microgravity on bone loss, in particular, by NASA.
A MASSIVE ALLIGATOR IN FLORIDA THAT HEAT AUTOMOBILISTS TRAVERSENT A MOTORWAY
"The habitat provides a useful basis for comparing mice and humans to better understand the human responses to spaceflight, "said the agency.
The results of the study were published last week in the journal Scientific Reports.
[ad_2]
Source link