On a mission to grow human organs in space

Scientists around the world are looking for ways to enable humans to regrow tissue - or even entire organs-lost from illness or injury. Now the quest has extended into space, with stem cell research on Tianzhou 1, China's first cargo spacecraft, poised to provide the first exploratory steps.

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology are conducting experiments on Tianzhou 1, which was launched on Thursday, to study the effects of microgravity on embryonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

The craft is carrying mouse embryos and stem cells. Scientists will observe the process of their proliferation and differentiation in space through imaging, while parallel experiments will be conducted on the ground to compare the results, lead researcher Duan Enkui said.