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Millman featured in AP News: Do stem cells grow better in space? 

This photo released by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service shows the International Space Station on March 30, 2022, photographed by the crew of a Russian Soyuz MS-19 spaceship after undocking from the station. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are trying to find new ways to produce huge batches of a type of stem cell that can generate nearly any other type of cell in the body _ and potentially be used to make treatments for many diseases. The cells arrived at the space station on a supply ship, on Saturday, July 16, 2022. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service via AP)

On July 17, Jeffrey R. Millman, PhD was featured in AP News’ article titled, “High-flying experiment: Do stem cells grow better in space?” 

Millman

As scientists see great promise in stem cell research, “researcher Dhruv Sareen’s own stem cells are now orbiting the Earth. The mission? To test whether they’ll grow better in zero gravity.”  

In the article, Millman and other scientists contribute their expertise and insight to the gravity dilemma. Which is that “the planet’s gravity makes it tough to grow the vast quantities of cells necessary for future therapies that may require more than a billion per patient.” 

Millman expresses that stem cells require vigorous stirring to avoid clumping or falling to the bottom of the tank, and that this stress often causes most cells to die. Clive Svendsen, executive director of Cedars-Sinai’s Regenerative Medicine Institute adds that “in zero gravity, there’s no force on the cells, so they can just grow in a different way.” 

Read the full article linked below. 

High-flying experiment: Do stem cells grow better in space?