Scientists dissected mice in space to learn about aging and muscle loss in humans.
A group of 20 mice spent a month in space - becoming the first mammal from Earth besides humans to go to space for that long - and were used to study mussle tissue, reports Daily Mail.
"By flying a mouse, whose typical lifespan is much shorter than humans, you can follow the course of bone and muscle loss over a much greater percentage of the mouse lifespan than you can in humans," Michael Roberts, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space's senior research manager, told Francie Diep at Popular Science.
Out of the mice sent to space by NASA, 10 were cut open by astronauts in space and had tissue samples sent back to Earth, reports Daily Mail. The other 10 mice won't get dissected until their return to Earth on Dec. 9.
The group of mice that were already dissected are missing the gene called Muscle Ring Finger 1 (MuRF-1), which causes muscles to deteriorate, Daily Mail reports. MuRF-1 is also present in humans, producing the proteins that destroy muscles.
Scientists believe by studying the tissues from the mice that are lacking the MuRF-1 gene they could create a drug to prevent human muscle loss on Earth, reports Daily Mail.
