Copernical Team
Human muscle cells to be launched into space for aging research
Tiny human muscle cells will be blasted into space in an experiment that could help people live longer, healthier lives.
The experiment, called MicroAge, is set to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.
Space will be used to understand what happens to human muscles as people age, and why.
Lab-grown human muscle cells, the size of a grain of rice, have been put into small 3D-printed holders the size of a pencil sharpener.
Once in space, they will be electrically stimulated to induce contractions in the muscle tissue, and the scientists will look closely to see what happens.
Spending time without the effects of gravity can cause astronauts' muscles to get weaker, just as they do in older age, before recovering when they return to Earth.
University of Liverpool researchers, funded by the UK Space Agency, will study what happens to muscle tissue in space, and compare the findings to what happens on Earth.
ESA catches Webb's first call
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Webb is due to launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at the earliest on 24 December. It will journey on a direct escape trajectory towards its target orbit more than 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. Part of ESA’s Estrack cooperative network, the 10-metre antenna in Malindi, Kenya, will make first contact from the ground with the fledgling mission, with the all-important ‘first acquisition of signal’.
About 23 minutes after lift-off, Malindi will locate the Ariane 5 launch vehicle in flight, rising above the Western horizon, still housing its precious cargo. Only five minutes later,
Japanese space tourists safely return to Earth
Secure Spanish satellites start construction
Two telecommunications satellites that can be reprogrammed while in space to respond to changing demands on Earth have passed their critical design reviews.
Dragon delivery – European science destined for space
The next SpaceX resupply vehicle is packed with European science, ready for delivery to the International Space Station just in time for Christmas.
Japanese space tourists return to Earth after 12 days on ISS
A Japanese billionaire returned to Earth Monday, after 12 days spent on the International Space Station where he made videos about performing mundane tasks in space including brushing teeth and going to the bathroom.
Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano parachuted onto Kazakhstan's steppe at around the expected landing time of 0313 GMT Monday, along with Russia NASA craft 'touches' sun for 1st time, dives into atmosphere
'Alarm bells' as UN validates record Arctic temperature
The UN on Tuesday officially recognised the 38 degrees Celsius measured in Siberia last year as a new record high for the Arctic, sounding "alarm bells" over climate change.
The sweltering heat - equivalent to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit - was seen on June 20, 2020 in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, marking the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle, the World Meteorologic New copper surface eliminates bacteria in just two minutes
A new copper surface that kills bacteria more than 100 times faster and more effectively than standard copper could help combat the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
The new copper product is the result of a collaborative research project with RMIT University and Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, with findings just published in Biomaterials.
Copper has long 
