Scientists Can Now Sequence DNA In Zero Gravity
DNA analysis is essential for evaluating human health and discovering the makeup of new substances. If humans were to spend long stretch of time in space, they would need to be able to sequence DNA. But scientists had never attempted the process in zero gravity—that is, until last month, when two geneticists tried it on board NASA’s reduced-gravity aircraft, according to an article in Nature News. The researchers wanted to test two important tools that they suspected might work differently in zero gravity. The first involves moving liquid from one container to another using a pipette—a process that involves suction and usually relies on gravity to keep substances in their beakers. This would be important for preparing DNA for long-term storage, according to the Nature News article, but also for transferring specific amounts of a given solution to dozens of other biology experiments. The researchers knew it would...