Mini brains in space: German research for long-term missions
Researchers in space want to use hippocampus organoids to determine how weightlessness affects the central control center in the brain.
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Do the neuronal structures of our brain and their functions change in weightlessness? Can such changes be counteracted? Scientists at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research want to find out questions like these in the Hippobox project in cooperation with the German Space Agency at DLR.
To this end, they are first preparing small hippocampus organoids. These small-scale replicas of the hippocampus can be cultivated using human stem cells. They should resemble the original in their structure and function so that their reaction to changes in the environment allows conclusions to be drawn about our real brains. The organoids are to remain in a cell culture box in space for several weeks. The project is part of the German Space Agency's Cellbox 4 mission.
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The researchers hope that the results will provide strategies for maintaining the cognitive health of space travelers, as well as insights for research into depression and dementia on Earth. According to GSI, there are indications that neuronal cells drift further apart in zero gravity. As a result, there are fewer contact points, which weakens the neuronal network. A similar effect can be observed in people with dementia or depression.
(dgi)
