Taconic Biosciences participates in second Rodent Research Reference mission to ISS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 -- Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing genetically engineered animal model solutions has participated in the second Rodent Research Reference mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

This project represents a direct collaboration between ISS National Lab, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bioserve Space Technologies with support from the Leidos Corporation, and Taconic.

“Scientists will gain a better understanding of the physiological, cellular, and molecular responses to this variable, helping to solve an ongoing problem of identifying the right disease models to drive new drug discovery,” said Taconic vice-president (scientific services), Dr John Couse.

ISS and Taconic solicited requests for proposals in March this year, seeking scientists who would like to access the specimens from this mission, according to a statement.

On July 27, the SpaceX Falcon rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft carrying 40 Taconic C57BL/6NTac mice to the ISS for the second Rodent Research Reference mission (RRR-2).

Researchers can now compare results from the two strains to gain insight as to which provides the best translational data, enhancing the ability to predict clinical success of future therapies.

The Dragon spacecraft and the mice returned to earth on Aug 29. Once the mice are safely transported to the lab, specimens will be collected and distributed to participating researchers.

-- BERNAMA