Levitating Mice

[Magda Hassan]

Super flying mouse: Scientists levitate mice using magnets to simulate space travel


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:28 AM on 11th September 2009
Scientists have successfully levitated mice in the laboratory, in an experiment which may help research into space travel.
Using powerful magnets, the creatures were held in a zero-gravity like setting inside a tiny canister, where - after a little acclimatisation - they floated around inside their cage.
The researchers, working at various American institutes on behalf of NASA, believe the experiment will help them study the effects of space travel on human anatomy.

Levitating mouse: It may not look much picture-wise, but this floating mouse could give us great insights into space travel

Similar levitation experiments have been held in the past - with frogs and grasshoppers being subjected to that uplifting feeling - but this is the first time an animal biologically similar to a human has been levitated.

Scientists built the device to simulate variable levels of gravity.
The superconducting magnet generates a magnetic field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, who then float around in their 2.6 inch-wide cage.
The researchers first levitated a young mouse, which was just three-week-old and weighed 10g.
They said it appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something.
Researcher Yuanming Liu, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: 'It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented.'

After getting used to the floating sensation, the mice seemed quite content in their new zero-gravity-like container

Their next subject was mildly sedated, and it seemed content with floating.
The plastic cage for the mice had an open top to let in air, food, water and allow video surveillance, and the bottom was filled with small holes to allow waste removal.

Repeated levitation tests showed the mice, even when not sedated, could quickly acclimate to levitation inside the cage.
After three or four hours, the mice acted normally, including eating and drinking, and appeared to have no short-term negative effects on the creatures.
They were further subjected to 10 weeks of strong, non-levitating magnetic fields, and again had no ill-effects.

Liu said: 'We're trying to see what kind of physiological impact is due to prolonged microgravity, and also what kind of countermeasures might work against it for astronauts.
'If we can contribute to the future human exploration of space, that would be very exciting.'
The team is now applying for funding to allow further research.


Video: A similar experiment featuring levitating frogs:


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