Kidneys-on-a-chip that rocketed to the International Space Station in May returned via a Pacific Ocean splashdown June 3 in the same Dragon capsule. The devices, part of Tissue Chips in Space, are now back in Seattle.
A UW School of Pharmacy and UW Medicine research project is being sent into space with the hope that the tests will provide answers to how the kidney is injured and how it can be repaired.
“Unimaginably intense” is how one might describe the pain of a kidney stone lodged in the urinary tract. Pebble-size crystals, most commonly calcium-based, bring people to their knees and then to the emergency room.
