How a random positioning machine lets scientists mimic microgravity for human cells

By Adrian Cole · September 25, 2026, 6:47 PM · 3 mins read

A random positioning machine inside a cell incubator now lets researchers at NYU simulate microgravity for human cells, opening up new ways to study how gravity shapes life.

Gravity is no longer a given for researchers at the Department of Physics at New York University. In their lab, a random positioning machine (RPM) sits inside a cell incubator. This setup lets human cells experience simulated microgravity—something that used to be possible only in space.

The RPM, shown in a video by Nikitas Kanellakopoulos and Alexandra Zidovska, does more than spin. It keeps changing the orientation of cell cultures, so gravity's pull gets canceled out. This means scientists can watch how human cells behave when gravity is taken out of the equation, all without leaving the lab.

After 24 hours of simulated microgravity, human-cell nuclei became larger, but genome organization and motion remained stable, with no detectable DNA damage reported.

Phys.org

The video is under embargo and only authorized viewers can see it. It shows the RPM running inside the incubator. The footage is only for use with the related study, which shows how tightly controlled this research is.

The broader impact for space biology and medicine is still to be seen, but bringing this machine into the lab is a big step. The RPM lets scientists test how cells handle stress and adapt when gravity is missing, just like in orbit. According to a detailed report by Phys.org, the device rotates cell dishes along two separate axes and follows a 3D path to copy weightlessness. The NYU team also built special algorithms to cut down on fluid movement that could mess up the results.

With NYU's Department of Physics leading the way, this approach shows how academic labs are pushing what experiments can do. Being able to simulate microgravity on demand, right inside a standard incubator, is a real shift for lab-based space biology. It's not just a technical tweak—it opens up new ground for testing how gravity affects human cells. The study, published in Science Advances, found that after 24 hours in simulated microgravity, the genome's structure and movement stayed strong and unchanged. Alexandra Zidovska put it simply: "Our data show that the genome, its organization and dynamics are incredibly robust and seem unaffected by gravity, or lack thereof, after 24 hours."

Simulated-microgravity cell systems, including random positioning machines and clinostats, are now recognized as standard platforms for life-science experiments, enabling researchers to study gravity's impact on cells without the need for orbital flight.

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1217Organization

A 2026 NASA Spaceline review points out that microphysiological cell culture systems are now built for simulated microgravity and often run on random positioning machines or clinostats. This shows a shift in space-life-science research. More labs are using these setups to study how cells react to changes in gravity, cutting down on the need for expensive and complicated missions in orbit.

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Adrian Cole

Adrian Cole is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of GenoMethods, where he writes about bioengineering, genome and cell engineering, synthetic biology, computational biology and emerging research methods. His editorial approach focuses on how technologies actually work, how they are validated and where the evidence stops supporting the claim.