KU researcher helps astronauts run experiment on human sperm in space

A researcher from the University of Kansas Health Service recently helped astronauts on the International Space Station run an experiment on how human sperm cells function in space.

Joseph S. Tash, Ph.D., an emeritus professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology in the KU School of Medicine, designed the experiment, which was conducted this summer, according to a release from the University of Kansas Health Service. It was known as Micro-11 and was the first experiment to test the functionality of human sperm in space.

A key to extended space travel or colonization of other planets will be the need for humans to procreate in space, but little is known about how the lack of gravity could affect the biology of human reproduction, the release reported.

“One of the long-term interests of NASA is looking at multi-generational survival as we plan longer and longer-duration missions,” Tash said, in the release. “As we plan to travel beyond the space station with thoughts of colonization on the moon and Mars and other heavenly bodies, the question of whether or not multi-generational survival can occur — not only in animals but in humans — is a very fundamental question that needs to be addressed.”

Tash trained the astronauts to conduct tests using a special microscope and custom-made slides to examine frozen samples of both human and bull sperm in the microgravity environment of the ISS. Tash was linked with the astronauts via video during the experiment, so he could see some results in real time.

The release didn’t go into detail about the findings of the experiment, but did note that the research could also help infertile couples here on Earth.

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