Flat worms participating in the space experiment came back as twin animals.
Space scientists have sent a flat worm to the International Space Station (ISS) to observe physical changes that would cause space travel.
Chris Kermel, founder of the Cantery Space Center, said there have been a lot of research into the physical changes of astronauts, but only a few have proven that molecular or cellular levels are affected by weightlessness.
Regardless of species, scientists say it is important to study how the Earth's gravitational and magnetic fields affect cell division and its effect on the differentiation and growth of individual organs.
To do this, in 2015, scientists measured the change by sending a complete flat worm and a partially cut flat worm to the space, respectively.
Flat worms are well known for their ability to regenerate after cutting, and the specimens were kept in half filled with air and half filled with water. The control group also performed experiments on the earth under the same environmental conditions.
When the experimenters who were sent into space returned to Earth, the researchers found a surprising fact. In the experimental group sent to space, two individual heads were found.
As the flat worms began to differentiate, the flat worms that had become differentiated also had two heads, and the researchers predicted that the double head phenomenon would last long.
"It is very mysterious to see twin flat worms," said Tufts biologist Michael Levin.
Another experimental object, the whole flat worm, was differentiated into a natural-looking object.
The researchers acknowledge that there are some limitations to the study. We could not figure out how the temperature of the universe affected the specimen, because the control on Earth could not be stored at the same temperature as the universe.
No further cutting or experimenting has been done until the flat worm has returned to Earth.
Levin said he hopes scientists on board the International Space Station will be able to cut flat worms from space and report observed changes.
The results of the study were published in the journal Regeneration.
