China creates blood cells in space for the first time.

Experts created early-stage blood cells at the Tiangong space station, moving closer to producing any type of human cell.

The Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft transported stem cells to the Tiangong space station on May 10. Photo: Xinhua

The experiment was conducted after the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft docked with the space station. Subsequently, the Shenzhou-15 crewed spacecraft brought the cells back to Earth on June 4th.

In the experiment, pluripotent stem cells—a special type of stem cell capable of developing into all major human cell types—were sent to the Tiangong Space Station's Wentian Laboratory module. There, some successfully developed into hematopoietic stem cells—the type that produce blood cells. In this way, scientists created blood cells in space for the first time.

"Actually, we've only achieved the first goal of the project. We still have a lot more to do," said Lei Xiaohua, a researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences under the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology.
Lei said his team will compare cells produced in space with cells on Earth, trying to find the exact genes that control the development process. "We will conduct more research on stem cells in the Tianzhou 7 and 8 missions," Lei said.

Stem cells are a key element in regenerative medicine – a field focused on regenerating organs, tissues, and other parts of the human body to help heal the original part that has been damaged by aging, disease, or accident.

Stem cell research in space is a topic of great interest because cells—like the entire human body—can be affected by the microgravity of outer space.

One of the goals of China's manned space program is to find planets suitable for life, according to Cang Huaixing, a researcher in charge of scientific experiments on the Tiangong space station and an expert at the Center for Space Technology and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "The space environment has very low gravity and high radiation. How to travel, survive, and have children in such an environment is our main research task," Cang said.

Thu Thao (According to CGTN )

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