Sperm appears to be unfazed by long stints in outer space.
In the longest biological experiment on the International Space Station yet, freeze-dried mouse sperm remained viable after nearly six years in space. Exposure to space radiation didn’t seem to harm the sperm’s DNA or the cells’ ability to produce healthy “space pups,” researchers report online June 11 in Science Advances.
That may be good news for future spacefarers. Scientists have worried that chronic exposure to space radiation might not only put astronauts at risk for cancer and other diseases, but also create mutations in their DNA that could be passed down to future generations (SN: 9/25/20). The new
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