KPBS Midday Edition

UC San Diego Experiment Will Send 'Mini-Brains' Into Space

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer of Audio News

Published July 17, 2019 at 11:15 PM PDT

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

Dr. Alysson Muotri holding human brain organoids, "mini-brains," in this undated photo.

Human brains have always developed subject to earth’s gravity, but what effect does gravity have on that development? A new experiment by UC San Diego researchers will send human brain organoids, or “mini-brains,” into outer space to find out what effect weightlessness has on a growing brain.

Human brains have always developed subject to earth’s gravity, but what effect does gravity have on that development?

A new experiment by UC San Diego researchers will send human “mini brains,” or organoids, into outer space to find out what effect weightlessness has on a growing brain. In addition to discovering more about the effects of gravity, researchers hope time on the International Space Station will also reveal more about the way aging and disease affects the brain. The organoids will be sent into space on June 21, the day after the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

The leader of the project, Dr. Alysson Muotri, professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, joined Midday Edition to discuss the project.

Tags

KPBS Midday Edition College

Maureen Cavanaugh

twitter

Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

What do you want to hear host Jade Hindmon talk about on Midday?

Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer of Audio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth