SSEP Mission 8

ExperimentHOW WILL MICROGRAVITY AFFECT THE FUNCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM CELLS IN THE S.

MEDITERRANEA FLATWORM?

Arjun Aggarwal, Rahim Dhalla, Matthew Egan, Maddie Elder, and

Alisia Lalji

HOW WILL MICROGRAVITY AFFECT THE

FUNCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM

CELLS IN THE S. MEDITERRANEA

FLATWORM?

Contributors

Co-Principal Investigators: 

Arjun AggarwalGrade 8 Rahim DhallaGrade 8 Matthew EganGrade 8 Madeline ElderGrade 11 Alisia LaljiGrade 12

Collaborators:

Jeffrey BurrowsGraduate Student of University of Toronto Ko CurrieGraduate Student of University of Toronto Michael PrysciakGraduate Student of University of TorontoTeacher Facilitator:

Suzanne MonirDepartment of Sciences

What are Planarians?

-S. Mediterranea- Impressive Regenerative capabilities.-Asexual reproduction-Very resilient; can last a very long time without food.-Have similar nervous/physiological systems as humans.

Stem Cells

- Stem cells refer to simple cells capable of developing into various types of cells.

- Unlike humans, Planarians possess totipotent stem cells throughout their entire life.

Figure 1: Variations of human stem cells.

Stem cells Daughter cells

Planarian adult stem cells enable the regeneration of all cells and tissues

The Research Question

- “How will microgravity affect the differentiation of embryonic stem cells in a planarian egg?”

- “How will exposure to microgravity and radiation affect S. mediterranea stem cell functions such as regeneration on its return to Earth?”

- “How will a microgravity environment affect the differentiation process of adult stem cells?”  

HOW WILL MICROGRAVITY AFFECT THE FUNCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM CELLS IN THE S. MEDITERRANEA FLATWORM?

“How will microgravity affect the differentiation of

embryonic stem cells in a planarian egg?”

- Regenerative process of S.Mediterranea worms.

- Embryonic stem cells, in most organisms, are pluripotent.

“How will exposure to microgravity and radiation affect S.

mediterranea stem cell functions such as regeneration on its return to

Earth?”

-Photobleached S. Mediterranea worms.-Experiments include testing...

-Regeneration-Asexual reproduction-Ability to shrink

“How will a microgravity environment affect the

differentiation process of adult stem cells?”

- Chemical solution BrDU (bromodeoxyuridine) allows us to label all newly generated planarian stem cells

- When placed in fluorescent dye upon return, cells will be visible through a microscope

- We can observe the stem cell population and distribution as it was affected by microgravity

Real-Life Applications

- Planarians have physiological systems that operate in a manner very similar to those of humans, yet on a more simplistic level.

- The information acquired by this experiment will be essential to the understanding of regeneration of human tissue on a large scale.

Real-Life Applications

- By examining how these features change as the worms regenerate, scientists move one step closer to learning how to generate or regenerate human tissue and cells, such as insulin-producing cells for people with diabetes or nerve cells for patients with spinal cord injuries.

Acknowledgements

-Magellan Aerospace -Ministry of Economic Development -TELUS Canada-TD Bank -Toronto Project -University of Toronto School’s Parents’ Association