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Experiment shows mammal embryos can develop fully in space

Thursday, 21 April 2016 7:46 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 April 2016 7:47 AM ]

Image by Chinese Academy of Sciences/China Daily

Chinese scientists have announced that they have been able to develop mice embryos in space, the first time mammalian embryos have ever been developed.

The experiments were carried out on mouse embryos aboard China's micro-gravity satellite, launched earlier this month. The embryos have been shown to successfully develop into advanced blastocysts over four days. Scientists hope the findings can help them find ways for humans to breed in space successfully.

"The human race may still have a long way to go before we can colonize space, but before that we have to figure out whether it is possible for us to survive and reproduce in the outer space environment like we do on Earth," principal researcher Duan Enkui from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

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