SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station as part of NASA's 35th commercial resupply mission. A complex of biotechnology equipment designed for brain and heart research, artificial retina printing, and protecting astronauts from dangerous infections has been delivered into orbit. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Discover Magazine. The docking was routine, and the new experimental installations are already ready for launch aboard the station.
Brain Organoids in Zero Gravity
The central place in this cargo batch is occupied by experiments on growing laboratory models of the human brain under the general name miBrains. In particular, the AVATAR-ORg1 project will track changes in brain tissue models under microgravity conditions for five weeks, comparing them with control samples simultaneously grown on Earth. The data obtained will help determine whether brain tissues can be grown and studied directly in space, with the prospect of using such models to protect astronauts' health during long-term missions.
Inflammation, Neurodegeneration, and the Heart
Another experiment, MINDS, focuses on the connection between inflammatory processes and neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists are working with organoids created from cells of multiple people, which makes it possible to account for individual differences. The results could become the basis for developing new treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis. A separate project, Stellar Spheroids, studies the impact of weightlessness on three-dimensional models of the human heart, which are used to test a new medicinal drug.
Artificial Retina Without Gravitational Distortions
An important biotechnological experiment is the LambdaVision-1 installation, aimed at creating an artificial retina to restore vision in people with degenerative eye diseases. The prosthesis is formed using the light-sensitive protein bacteriorhodopsin. The research was moved to orbit because on Earth, gravity deforms hundreds of thin layers of this protein and makes them unstable. Researchers expect that the absence of gravity on the ISS will allow the formation of smoother and more stable layers, which will increase the efficiency of the artificial retina.
Protecting the Crew from Superbugs
To preserve the health of the crew itself, the ELISA MABL system was delivered to the station — a compact device for measuring the levels of proteins, antibodies, and antigens in biological samples. It will allow astronauts to perform analyses directly in orbit, including tracking bone loss in microgravity conditions. In addition, the GEARS experiment is dedicated to studying antibiotic-resistant bacteria Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, previously discovered on board the ISS. The results will help understand how "superbugs" develop in a confined space and protect the crew from potential infections.
