Tissue chip headed to International Space Station for osteoarthritis study
On May 4, a National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)-supported tissue-chip system with direct clinical applications to health conditions here on Earth was launched on the SpaceX CRS 17/Falcon 9 rocket. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), and there are currently no disease-modifying drugs that can halt or reverse the progression of OA — only painkillers for short-term symptomatic relief. Millions of healthy young to middle-aged individuals develop post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) as a result of a traumatic joint injury, like a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus, especially in young women playing sports. Exercise-related injuries are also said to be frequent sources of joint injury for crew members living aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and pre-existing joint injuries may also affect astronaut performance in space. These conditions are compounded and worsened by exposure of crew members to weightlessness and radiation on the ISS. After...