NASA
Dinner time for Space Station Astronauts
New research suggests that astronauts may have difficulty reproducing in space — which could jeopardize the future of space colonization.
A study this Thursday in Communications Biology concluded that the microgravity simulated on Earth hindered the movement of sperm cellsfertilization of the egg and development of the embryo.
But not only. By observing sperm and eggs in simulated microgravity, scientists also discovered that this environment harmed the fertilization and embryo development.
This study of humans, rats, and pigs revealed that sperm became disoriented, rat eggs had fewer successful fertilizations, and pig embryos had developmental delays, all due to microgravity.
The conclusions raise doubts about reproduction outside Earth.
Previous studies, cited by , had already shown that microgravity can harm estrogen production and reduce sperm count in rats. However, what happens at the cellular level when sperm and egg float in near-zero gravity remained unclear.
“Cells experience a kind of continuous free fall”, he explained to the same magazine, Nicole McPhersona researcher who heads the Sperm and Embryo Biology Group at the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide and senior author of the study.
The researchers analyzed fertilization and embryo development in mouse and pig eggs.
Successful fertilization was 30% lower in rat eggs and about 15% lower in pig eggs in simulated microgravity, compared to Earth’s gravity.
Six days after insemination, the pig embryos showed delay signs in development.
“Then, the embryo’s cells must organize themselves correctly to eventually form each organ in the body, supported by a placenta that must function properly throughout the duration of the pregnancy. Microgravity has the potential to disrupt any or all of these steps”, points out McPherson.
