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Belgians send miniature heart into space for ageing research
Five Belgian companies and research centres are joining forces in the AstroCardia project. With that project, they are making it their mission to improve heart health. And they are doing so in a very special place: in space. This is where they are aiming to better study heart ageing and create a suitable research model for the heart. To do so, they developed an artificial miniature heart and associated circulatory system using 3D bioprinting. This so-called ‘heart-on-a-chip’ will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025.