Film Synopsis and Review

The Dream Flight Under Microgravity

To experience floating as if we are as light as air must be one of humanity’s greatest dreams. Only few get to do it, from professionals to trainees, so JAXA or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has offered students with aspirations to become great researchers to test out their problems with zero gravity flights. Zero gravity flights are part of astronaut training, but is now exposed in the media. Lucky students from Taiwan were the focus. They were able to satisfy the officials from JAXA and NSTDA with their chosen research.

There are different ways to experience zero gravity. The method that was used was called Parabolic Flight Maneuver. It is when an aircraft goes up in a 45 degree angle and goes to the top forming an arc like shape, then goes down in the same angle measurement. As is goes down, there will be 20-25 seconds on which we will experience immobility

The student’s research comprises of a specific kind of algae called chlamydomonas reinhardtii that is attracted to light. The aim is to find out if the attraction will also be effective with a zero gravity environment. They made a slide with a red color, a color which the algae keeps away from and put a blue light in which will attract the algae. The successful result of the experiment also concludes that astronauts can start the growth of plant life for food while in outer space.

We still haven’t unlocked all the secrets of outer space, so it is a challenge mankind shall gladly accept.

Cell Fate: Journey to Specialization

There was that one question: Can you change the fate of a cell?

A cell is the smallest unit of life. There a different kinds of cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and so much more. But can we, for example, take a specific amount of lymphocytes and transform it into macrophages to sustain the amount of the cells we need? There is one specific cell called HSC or hematopoietic stem cell. They are found in the...