Cord blood is the blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of the child and is collected after the cord has been cut off. The umbilical cord is routinely discarded with the placenta after a child is born. It is also called placental blood. Cord blood has lots of blood producing stem cells which can be frozen and later used for transplants. Cord blood is genetically unique to the child and the family. Now researchers have found that it can be used to treat many diseases.

Cord blood is now used as an alternative to bone marrow transplant when in future if the child or his family is diagnosed with cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and other disorders of the blood-making system, such as sickle-cell anemia; severe immune-system disorders; and genetic defects affecting the blood-making system. Researchers are further studying the use of cord blood for the treatment of different types of diseases like arthritis, spinal cord damage, stroke diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, Purkinje cell degeneration, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision and hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, burns osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

All stem cells–regardless of their source–have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types. The cord blood contains blood-producing hematopoietic stem cells as well as mesenchymal stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells have the ability to generate: three major types of brain cells (neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes); skeletal muscle cells; cardiac muscle cells; and liver cells.
Mesenchymal stem cells can create various tissues in the body such as cartilage, bone, muscle, tendon, ligament and fat.

Cord blood transplants have become a strong alternative to bone marrow transplants. Cord blood is easier to collect than traditional bone marrow donation and it is not painful to extract, doesn’t require invasive surgery. It is extremely difficult to find a suitable donor for a marrow transplant because six HLAs, or human lymphocyte antigens, a group of proteins in bone marrow cells that can provoke an immune response, need to match or a perfect match is required. In cord blood transplant only three HLAs loci need to match. So in cord blood there is more opportunity for transplant to siblings, parents and grandparents. Cord blood has 10 times more blood-making cells concentrated in it than bone marrow. » Read more: Cord Blood and Its Uses

Being one of the first Space Colonists is not going to be such an easy deal. It will take a group of people who really are into it and have complete control of their minds to stay tough with the dedication it will take to pull it off for a life long mission of that type. How will we know that those we invest in have the right stuff? One interesting Sci Fi book on this goes into some of the possibilities of a Mars Colony and the psychological issues, which arise. You may wish to read this book; “Return to Mars” by Ben Bova.

NASA has considered underwater colonies under the ocean to test the psyche of astronauts, perhaps for a couple of years. There was a group that was put into the Columbia University BiosSphere II for three years and they almost lasted 2-years, before the group dynamics, an injury and issues with the interior CO2 issues all ended up destroying that project. Now in the Australian Outback they are planning a 36-meter long space station simulation including a mobile explorer rover, laboratory, exercise-medical room, seven bedrooms and a cockpit area. This project will cost $1,500,000.00 and be called the “Mars OZ” research station. All these are decent attempts and ideas of what we must be thinking when practicing our space colony missions.

I propose a different type of colony in the arctic ice cap on Earth to practice for an “ice house” colony on Mars, which would be nearly identical.We practice shooting them into orbit here, allowing them to re-enter the atmosphere and landing on the Ice Cap, using the tools on the craft to dig into the ice, build a habitat with what has been given and then living there without help for 3.5 years and study them, via remote video. If they freeze or die, leave them there until the duration of the mission. » Read more: Simulated Space Colony and Space Station Locations