Taconic Sends Mice into Space for Therapeutic Research

On Jan. 17, 2019, Taconic Biosciences, a provider of genetically engineered rodent model solutions, announced the completion of a recent mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to advance research on new therapies for aging-related disease processes.

The Rodent Research 8 mission, also referred to as Rodent Research Reference mission 1, studies the microgravity effects on groups of the company’s young and old BALB/cAnTac mice flown on the same mission. Information gathered from this project will serve as control data for past and future missions.

The company reports that previous spaceflight studies demonstrated that mice undergo rapid loss of muscle and bone mass, resembling accelerated aging. Therefore, mice exposed to microgravity via spaceflight are a valuable model to understand and develop new therapies for aging-related immune, bone, and muscle disease processes. 

“Participation in the Rodent Research missions is both exciting and inspiring, as the research advances our understanding of how microgravity conditions impact mammalian biology,” said Dr. Gretchen Kusek, associate director of scientific services with Taconic Biosciences, in a company press release. “Over a year of planning and effort goes into preparing animal cohorts to ensure all animals are within the mission specs at the time of launch, so seeing the project through to completion is very rewarding.”

This project is collaboration between the ISS National Lab, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Bioserve Space Technologies with support from the Leidos Corporation, and Taconic. In September 2018, ISS National Lab issued a request for proposal for investigators to access the information generated from this study. Those selected will receive funding to carry out additional research.

Source: Taconic Biosciences