Studies have found that genetic technology can help astronauts diagnose disease quickly in space

Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem July 3rd (Reporter Wang Zhuolun Lu Yingxu) The University of Tel Aviv, Israel recently released a communique that an experiment conducted at the International Space Station confirmed that genetic technology based on the CRISPR/CAS system can accurately identify viruses and bacteria in space. Help astronauts quickly diagnose the disease.

CRISPR is a mechanism for the invasion of bacterial defense virus. The bacteria use the CRISPR/CAS system as a molecular "search engine" to locate the virus sequence and cut them to fail the virus. French scientist Schalus and American scientist Tonnener, a complex defense mechanism, developed the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology that can efficiently modify the cell genome and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.

According to the bulletin, CRISPR has now been used to accurately identify various organisms, such as whether bacteria or viruses exist in the sample. In order to verify whether the CRISPR/CAS testing method can be used for space environment, researchers and other institutions of Tel Aviv University have produced relevant kits, and Israeli Stebe was brought into the international space station for experiments. In April of this year, Stebe, one of the world's first members of the "Private" Aerospace team organized by private enterprises, took the "Dragon" spacecraft of the American Space Exploration Technology Company to the International Space Station.

The bulletin said that the experiments were very successful, and CRISPR/CAS could identify the target DNA (deoxyrum nucleic acid) in space, indicating the existence of specific viruses or bacteria. This proves that even in an environment with almost no gravity, it can accurately and sensitively complete the CRISPR -based diagnosis.

"Space conditions are extremely complicated, and the treatment methods are also very limited, so it is essential to identify pathogens in a fast, reliable and direct method." Burstein, a professor at the University of Tel Aviv, said that the polymerase chain that people are well known today Tests such as formulating reactions (PCR) requires trained personnel and relatively complex equipment, and the entire process based on CRISPR diagnosis can be performed in a small test tube, which can well adapt to the needs of astronauts.

Burstein said that they will study how to further improve the efficiency of the detection system, and hope that this simple detection method can be used for long -term space tasks such as the moon and Mars exploration in the future.

- END -