China builds space embryo research system to lay groundwork for deep space exploration

China is completing a research system for embryonic development in orbit spanning from lower vertebrates to higher mammals in a bid to decode how space environments affect reproduction and lay the groundwork for future long-term human habitation in space.

As space exploration pushes further into the cosmos, whether life can be nurtured in space has become a key question for scientists, because any long-term human presence in space -- or eventual interstellar migration -- will require solving the challenges of reproduction and health maintenance beyond Earth.

To this end, Chinese researchers have designed a comprehensive research system to study the development of zebrafish embryos, mouse embryos, and artificial embryos derived from stem cells, covering lower vertebrates, lower mammals, and higher mammals.

On Monday morning, China sent payloads for five space life science experiments to its space station aboard the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft, targeting critical issues such as how the space environment damages early-stage mammalian embryos, the regulatory mechanisms behind bone loss and myocardial changes under microgravity, and the construction and development of artificial human embryos in space.

The human embryo research of the latest mission will be the finishing touch to build the research system, according to Li Tianda, associate researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"We hope to integrate our researches on mice, zebrafish, the current research on embryos, and future gestation studies on mice to systematically understand how the space environment influences embryonic development in Earth-originating life forms, including vertebrates like zebrafish, mammals like mice, and primates like human in future studies. In the future, we will develop regulatory and intervention mechanisms to gain a deeper understanding of the reproductive process during long-term manned space missions," Li said.

China builds space embryo research system to lay groundwork for deep space exploration

China builds space embryo research system to lay groundwork for deep space exploration

A Chinese media delegation visited the Kikuyu indigenous community in Kenya's Githirioni Uplands on Tuesday, the first such visit by a Chinese press team to the traditional heartland of the country's largest ethnic group.

Githirioni Uplands lies about 30 kilometers from capital city Nairobi and is a traditional home of the Kikuyu community.

For generations, people in the community have relied on farming as their primary livelihood, with social order upheld by elders and traditional chiefs.

The chief of the Githirioni Uplands Kikuyu community said that this was the first Chinese media delegation they had hosted.

"Chinese people are very good. You see they are making roads here. They are doing everything for us. That's why we are very happy with them. They are very good people and they are hardworking," said Baba Gitau, chief of the Githirioni Uplands Kikuyu community.

Chinese journalists pay historic first visit to Kenya's Kikuyu tribe