Mice flown to space by JAXA, SpaceX point researchers to protein that could slow ageing

Japan’s space agency had sent a group of mice to space to learn about the effect that space has on their bodies, in an effort to monitor and control these changes. While half of the twelve mice sent to the International Space Station in 2018 had the Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, the other six were genetically engineered to not have the same Nrf2 gene. In the study led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency with Tohoku University, the mice were sent to space aboard the SpaceX Falcon rocket, after which they spent 31 days in space. However, upon returning, the scientists saw that the mice which did not have Nrf2 experienced some changes in their blood components which can be likened to the changes that humans go through during ageing.