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Innovation and Amazement: Cool Science on the International Space Station

CC0 / / International Space Station
International Space Station - Sputnik International
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The International Space Station (ISS) has been the bedrock of hundreds of experiments, with collaboration from all over the world which have led to DNA sequencing and major developments in health and scientific research.

For the first time ever, DNA was successfully sequenced in microgravity as part of the Biomolecule Sequencer experiment performed by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. The ability to sequence the DNA of living organisms in space opens a whole new world of scientific and medical possibilities. Scientists consider it a game changer.

RapidScat

​The ISS RapidScat ocean vector wind scatterometer instrument is the first operational science instrument on the station, dedicated to Earth observations.

Wind speed and direction observations over the ocean are crucial inputs in weather forecasting, analysis and mathematical models for numerical weather prediction that cannot be obtained globally from local observations.

Synthetic Muscle

Under the ISS program, Lenore Rasmussen invented Synthetic Muscle, a flexible polymer that has the ability to expand and contract with electric input at low voltage.

"Our company is dedicated to developing customized products that have the power to heal and save lives. This polymer has huge potential in the prosthetics and robotics industries," he said.

Heart Cells

The Heart Cells study is looking at how microgravity affects human heart cells. The US National Laboratory investigation is studying how microgravity changes the human heart, and how those changes vary between individuals.

Results could advance the study of heart disease and the development of drugs and cell replacement therapy.

Mouse Epigenetics

In Mouse Epigenetics, researchers are exploring altered gene expression and DNA by tracking changes in the organs of male mice that spend one month in space, and examining changes in the DNA of their offspring.

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