10-05-2021 | 13:12 PM
Tissue Chips
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently launched Crew 2 Mission. The mission carried four astronauts to the International Space Station.
• The astronauts are to conduct more than two hundred experiments in space. One of them is using Tissue Chips.
About tissue chips:
• It is a small device that contains human cells in a 3D matrix represents a giant leap in the ability of scientists to test how those cells respond to stresses, drugs, and genetic changes.
• About the size of a thumb drive, the devices are known as tissue chips or organs on chips.
• Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body.
• According to NASA, these chips can potentially speed up the process of identifying safe and effective drugs and vaccines.
• Scientists can use these tissue chips in space to study diseases that affect specific human organs, which would take months or years to develop on Earth.
Note: Crew 2 Mission was launched under the Commercial Crew Programme of NASA. It aims to transport cargo and crew to and from the International Space Station.
