what is its purpose
D(MG)2 aims to understand how midline glioma spreads – one of the most common types of primary high-grade brain tumors to afflict children. Until now, it has been impossible to cure because of the amount of different cell types present. The space agency awarded £1.4 million to the University of Liverpool’s MicroEdge-2 project to investigate how the microgravity environment of orbit weakens astronauts’ muscles in space – just as they do on Earth do with age.
will be of great use
In the statement, Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Technology George Freeman said, this research will greatly benefit mankind and health systems around the world. This ground-breaking research highlights the power of space to push through barriers, revolutionize science and enhance our lives,” said Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency. Bett said that during his stay aboard the ISS, D(Mg)2 will improve scientists’ understanding of how cancer cells interact with each other within three-dimensional structures and develop new ideas to inhibit tumor growth. leads the
The ISS experiment for MicroEdge 2 will use lab-grown human muscles to observe the effects of microgravity and test whether mitochondria play a key role in muscle loss in space and determine whether applying stress can increase muscle loss. : The collapse process may be slowing down, which could help scientists speed it up. We develop treatments to reduce the loss of muscle mass as we age.
New technology will be developed
The space agency also supported MicroEdge 1, scheduled to fly to the ISS in December 2021. It will send it into space to understand the process of building muscles the size of a grain of rice grown in the laboratory. We will use newly developed techniques to study the role of changes in mitochondria, microscopic structures responsible for supplying energy to cells, in driving the loss of muscle mass that occurs in microgravity, said Professor Malcolm Jackson at the University of Liverpool. .
Will check with hardware
The role of the lack of stress on muscles in these mitochondrial changes, he said, will be investigated using innovative hardware that modifies the amount of stress muscles experience in microgravity. This, Jackson said, will be used to test whether the altered stress on muscles regulates muscle loss in microgravity and inform us about the process during which muscle loss occurs during aging on Earth.
The equipment for the experiments is being built by Quasar Space Ltd, a microgravity hardware specialist based in Oxfordshire. The firm has expertise in the design and supply of equipment and systems used in outer space and in particular by crew in spacecraft.