Japanese researchers' gene preservation in space could be 'Noah's Ark'

I didn't know the Japanese were aware of Noah. He wasn't Buddhist or Shinto. Weird.

Keeping DNA in space is a bad idea due to mutations from solar radiation.

Astronauts traveling to Mars are expected to be exposed to elevated cancer risks due to being exposed to solar radiation for so long.

Radiation risk is reduced near Earth due to magnetic field, but still not completely risk free.

The best place to keep DNA is deep underground.

I'm sorry, but the idea that we need to store these in space is nonsense. Plant seeds are already being preserved very effectively here on Earth. The Millennium Seed Bank in the UK is one example. If we wanted to do the same with animal sperm and eggs then we could do so. But can anyone come up with a scenario where all the Earth-based seed banks are lost and we both need and are able to access those in space?

Not sure what the utility of establishing a sperm repository in space is? Better to have it on Earth, cheaper and easier access if needed, without the potential hazard of radiation.

Also if we are in that dire a situation that we need it we probably won’t have the resources to access it anyway!

That sounds like a sufficient final result already, because we all stem from a rat living in trees (long before those became the known apes in the trees that then came down to ground and walked around and became humans). So we only need to reactivate such mice or rats and wait for some millions of years until repopulated. lol

Keep it in space long enough and three legged mice will be the result!

Like Noah’s Ark, except real.

Desert TortoiseToday  07:47 am JST

Reminds me of an old move named "Silent Running".

pretty damned interesting film it was (and is) too.....

however, if we're at the stage that this is necessary (along with the 'doomsday' seed vault in Norway) then we've lost it completely..... and there'll be no-one left to re-establish life-forms....

Lamilly

They divide faster in zero gravity.

This is cool. I love mice.

researchers collected sperm from 12 male mice 

I'm glad I don't do research that requires me to do stuff like this. Just sayin.

Reminds me of an old move named "Silent Running".

Great movie.

Weird they choose the application that is less practical and that still requires much more optimization for the title of the article, much more mundane processes that involve reproductive manipulation (or even other tissues) could benefit much more easily and quickly from this advancement.

Instant Sperm?

Reminds me of an old move named "Silent Running".

*“Space Seed”? Season 1 Ep 24, of StarTrek:TOS *heralded the benefits of cryogenics yet, questioned the of ethics, morality and potential dangers of advancing eugenics.

"freeze-Dried Sperm"

I like the term and would love to be the first donor to save the Human Race. LOL