Monday, May 5, 2014

Jellyfish in Space!...?

               I read an article about why NASA has launched some 60,000 jellyfish into orbit around Earth. The purpose of this is to test the effects of microgravity as they devolop, specifically, their sense of direction.
               Jellyfish have tiny hairs on the tops of their 'heads' that aid in their sense of which way is up, like the ones in our ears meant for balance. The study found that these tiny hairs developed normally in all jellyfish. However, twenty percent of the jellyfish could not tell which way was up when placed in water back on Earth.
               What this study does for us, is that it gives us an idea of how, or if children could be born and raised in space. Of course this is overlooking all the effects of radiation, bone and muscle loss, etc. The fact that 20% of the jellyfish couldn't find which way was up makes us wonder what else could be effected by growing up in a zero gravity world.

http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2013/10/i-dont-think-youre-ready-jelly/72206/

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