Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology
Published on: November 13, 2014
Effects of gravity on ontogeny in animals
1Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., USA.
Abstract:
This brief review leads to the following conclusions: (i) Inversion or clinostat rotation of frogs' eggs demonstrated a critical period of enhanced gravity-sensitivity prior to the first cleavage. These results were corroborated by centrifugation studies which localized the period of maximal sensitivity at approximately 20 minutes post-fertilization. (ii) Eggs of various invertebrates suspended in aqueous solution proved capable of normal development following brief ultracentrifugation. (iii) Among fly larvae, grasshopper nymphs, turtles, mice, rats and chickens, growth rates were inversely related to G-force and maximal chronic acceleration tolerated was inversely related to body size. (iv) Body composition data demonstrated the importance of separately evaluating fat and the fat-free portion of the body in studies of the effect of acceleration on growth in homeotherms. (v) The attempt to evaluate the effect of weightlessness on development of frogs' eggs in Biosatellite 2 was inconclusive for technical reasons.
Related Concept Videos
Nature and Nurture
Free-falling Bodies: Introduction
Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets
Astronomical observations are thus used to measure the acceleration due to gravity on other planets. This can be determined by observing the effect of a planet's gravity on objects close to it. The crucial factor that helps in this...
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's angular speed. Since the...
Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
Work Done by Gravity
Like other forces, gravity does work on an object if it displaces it toward the Earth's center. In this case, the work done by gravity is said to be positive. If an external force acts on the object against the pull of gravity and manages to lift it away from the Earth's center, work is done against gravity. In this case, the net work done is said to be negative.

