https://mailchi.mp/nasa.gov/space-biology-newsletter-aug-2024-issue-17850181
NASA Space Biology Science Digest
August 2024
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Greetings, Ryan!
News & Announcements
Save the Date!! Virtual Symposium on the NASA/JAXA Joint ISS Mission MHU-8
October 29, 2024
NASA JAXA Joint Partial-gravity Rodent Research Mouse Habitat Unit MHU-8 was a collaboration between JAXA, NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP), and NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division (BPS), designed to study the effects of partial gravity on biology with a focus on molecular, cellular and integrated physiological approaches. The focus of this investigation was to define the relationships between physiological adaptation and varied partial G levels for multiple systems which included musculoskeletal, neuromotor, central nervous, circadian timing, metabolism, gastrointestinal microbiome, immune, and reproductive.
The following Principal Investigators on the MHU-8 mission will be presenting their findings at the virtual symposium:
- Dr. Mary Bouxsein , Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, "Dose-Response Study of Musculoskeletal Outcomes Following Centrifugation in Adult Mice on ISS"
- Dr. Charles Fuller , University of California, Davis, "Adaptation of Mouse Systems Physiology to Artificial Gravity via Centripetal Acceleration: Timing, Metabolism & Aging"
- Dr. Satoru Takahashi, University of Tsukuba, "Effects of Partial Gravity on Mammals and their next generations"
- Dr. Martha Vitaterna , Northwestern University, "Effects of Partial Gravity on Multi-system Mammalian Physiology: Microbiome and Related Systems"
To RSVP for this virtual symposium, please send your name, email, and organization you are affiliated with to Ms. Elaine Kim at hq-cvo@mail.nasa.gov and Dr. Lynn Harrison at lynn.h.clary@nasa.gov
Inspiring the Next Generation
Space Life Sciences Training Program Interns Successfully Complete the 2024 Summer Term
August 8, 2024 - The twelve Research Associates that comprised this summer’s cohort of the Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) each presented their individual projects and the work they completed during the summer term to support their mentor-led projects. On the final day of the summer program, the students delivered a presentation of their group project, which included a very well-planned public outreach program for students to participate in a fictional NASA mission. The outreach plan aims at inspiring young students (grades 4 through 7) in underserved communities to see themselves in STEM careers. Final completion certificates were presented to each of the students during a closing ceremony that followed a presentation by Space Biology Program Scientist Dr. Lynn Harrison. Most of the SLSTP mentors, the Space Biology management team, branch managers, and many SC Division staff supported the students by attending the events in person or joining online. The students delivered outstanding and polished presentations! Congratulations to our summer 2024 SLSTP ‘graduates’!!
SLSTP provides undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years, and entering graduate students, with professional experience in space life science disciplines. This intensive ten-week summer program was held in-person at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California from June 3 - August 9,2024. The primary goal of the program is to train the next generation of scientists and engineers. Judging by the enthusiasm of this year’s SLSTP cohort, we expect to see many of them return to NASA as future interns or employees!
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Spaceflight News
Payload Launches to Space to Study Bioregenerative Life Support using Plants
August 4 - Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center. A Space Biology plant experiment known as the C4 Photosynthesis in Space Advanced Plant Experiment-09 was launched aboard the Northrup Grumman 21st cargo mission to the ISS. C4 Photosynthesis in Space (C4 Space) (Advanced Plant Experiment-09 or APEX-09) will examine the carbon dioxide capture mechanisms of two types of grasses.
C4 Photosynthesis in Space (C4 Space) (APEX-09) examines how microgravity affects C3 and C4 plant metabolism. Plants capture atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and convert it into oxygen (O2) and sugars through photosynthesis. C3 and C4 plants have two different CO2-concentrating mechanisms. The APEX-09 investigation seeks to compare the impact of conditions aboard the International Space Station on C3 and C4 metabolism using Brachypodium distachyon, a C3 model grass, and Setaria viridis, a C4 model grass. Results from this investigation provide the research team with a better understanding of the C3 and C4 metabolic reprogramming occurring in space environments as compared to on Earth. Findings from this experiment could show how photosynthesis and overall plant metabolism change in space.
The cultivation of plants is crucial for developing bio-regenerative life support systems in space. However, growing them in microgravity affects photosynthesis, the process by which plants generate oxygen and convert carbon dioxide into food for astronauts. The insights gained from this research will pave the way for more effective integration of plants on Earth and in future space habitats. This knowledge could support development of ways to use carbon metabolizing plants in bioregenerative life support systems on future missions.
New Discoveries
A Prebiotic Diet Increases Cardiovascular Adaptability Under Hypergravity-Induced Stress
In a newly published paper, Michael Pecaut, PhD. Of Loma Linda University and his team tested selective dietary prebiotics to increase the relative abundance of gut microbiota on mitigating stress from living in an altered gravitational environment. Adult female mice were housed in either 1G or 3G for four weeks using the centrifuge facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Using heart rate variability as an indicator of stress, the study findings suggest the prebiotic diet significantly reduced 3G activation of sympathetic drive and increases parasympathetic drive, potentially reducing cardiovascular stress in animals exposed to high gravity.
This adaptation was particularly pronounced in the prebiotic treated mice, suggesting that a prebiotic, anti-inflammatory diet has promise to reduce overall cardiovascular stress and improve physiological adaptability. This is encouraging when one considers the importance of adaptive responses to stress in altered gravity. A preliminary hypothesis based on this data could be that astronauts subjected to prolonged changes in the gravitational environment (> 24 hours) would be able to adapt to the increased gravitational field and show no debilitating cardiovascular stress. Ideally, further work focused on changes in autonomic control of the cardiovascular system in response to a prebiotic diet would be an obvious and, potentially, fruitful line of investigation to provide a pathway toward an optimized diet for space travelers. The paper is available online.
This study was funded by a NASA Space Biology grant (80NSSC19K1038) to Michael Pecaut, PhD of Loma Linda University, “A Systems-Biology Approach to Assessing the Impact of a Centrifugation Model of Spaceflight on Cross-System Communication”. His collaborators are Christopher Wilson, PhD. of Loma Linda University and Monika Fleshner, PhD of the University of Colorado.
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Events & Opportunities
TRISH Post-doctoral Fellowships for the Academy of Bioastronautics
The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine, with consortium partners California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is seeking exceptional proposals from postdoctoral fellows ready to help solve the challenges of space exploration. TRISH’s postdoctoral fellowship program supports early-career scientists pursuing innovative, breakthrough research with the potential to reduce spaceflight-associated health risks and improve astronaut performance. Selected fellows will participate in TRISH’s Academy of Bioastronautics. They will receive a stipend for salary support for two years, with a chance for a third year of funding. The fellowship is a launchpad for researchers applying their work to space health and to benefit all on Earth.
Proposers should anticipate starting their project in August 2025 and no later than November 1, 2025. Applicants that require visas with their sponsoring institution may also apply provided that a valid visa is obtained before the project start date and no later than October 31, 2025. Applicants must submit research proposals together with an identified mentor and institution. Funds to support the research must be supplied by the mentor. Independent investigators with existing research grant support may request to be publicly listed as possible mentors for this program by contacting Guillaume Vignaux at gvignaux@nasaprs.com.
Learn more about the INSPIRATION Scholarship
NASA Requests Your Input for SpinSats
Contribute your ideas to the development of a new spaceflight experimental platform for space biology!
SpinSat is a Class-D space platform that enables long-duration exposure to deep-space radiation environments under controlled gravity levels from micro-g to Earth g and higher. Easy integration and late payload access are key features; modification of payload radiation environments to mimic those of the Moon and Mars are key objectives. It will accommodate experiments in the space biological and physical sciences, astrobiology, human health research, and more: https://bit.ly/4fHzjep
The SpinSat Team at NASA Ames Research Center is seeking input for requirements of potential payloads to enable a spacecraft design that meets the needs of as large a group of researchers as possible. If you are a potential spaceflight investigator or a hardware provider, please click here: https://bit.ly/3T8EHhl Responses are due by October 2.
Note: No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.
Biospecimen Sharing Program
Share Research Discover
Spaceflight Biospecimens Available for Research
Help NASA maximize the scientific return from biological spaceflight investigations and encourage broader participation of the research community in space biology-related research. Non-human biospecimens are dissected, collected, and preserved by the Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) team from NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). These biospecimens and associated Metadata are made available through NASA’s Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC). They are searchable and available for request on the Life Sciences Data Archive public website. Flight and ground control biospecimens are available from COSMOS, NASA’s space shuttle missions, and International Space Station (ISS) investigations.
What will your discoveries unfold?
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