Cedars-Sinai Researchers Discover Microgravity Enhances Growth of Human Mini-Hearts
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai in the United States have discovered that microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) facilitate the growth of human cardiac organoids, small three-dimensional structures that mimic early heart tissue. These organoids were produced more efficiently in space than in Earth-based laboratories. The study, led by Arun Sharma, was presented at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation's annual meeting. The research highlights a contrast between the effects of microgravity on adult human hearts, which can lose muscle conditioning, and on developing cardiac cells, which seem to thrive in such conditions. This discovery could have implications for regenerative medicine, although the mini-hearts are not yet ready for clinical use. 
