Moreover, even when tested 20 months after return to Earth, the space‐exposed worms displayed significant quantitative differences in behavior and microbiome composition. Remarkably, amputating this double‐headed worm again, in plain water, resulted again in the double‐headed phenotype. One animal out of 15 regenerated into a double‐headed phenotype-normally an extremely rare event. No manipulation of the planaria occurred while they were in orbit, and space‐exposed worms were returned to our laboratory for analysis. A control group in spring water remained on Earth. Planarian flatworms were moved to the International Space Station for 5 weeks, immediately after removing their heads and tails. How these may change in the absence of the normal gravitational and geomagnetic fields is largely unknown. Regeneration is regulated not only by chemical signals but also by physical processes, such as bioelectric gradients.
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