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Human Health Research on the ISS - May 2020
Human Health Research on the ISS - May 2020
By JJ
The ISS is a unique laboratory for research on both investigations of human health on earth and in space too. Throughout its assembly, the ISS has supported research that is providing a better understanding of certain human aspects. Such as aging, trauma, disease, and environment, and new development of medical technology and protocols driven by the need to support astronaut health. Advances in telemedicine, disease models, psychological stress, response systems, nutrition, cell behavior and environmental health are just a few examples of benefits that have been gained from the unique space station microgravity environment.
NASA is also studying the long term responses from the planet while human activity on Earth changes because of everyone being in quarantine. Using USAID, and the global agencies that oversee food security. Scientists can track air quality changes, such as the drop in nitrogen dioxide, a major air pollutant, over major metropolitan areas around the world. Seeing Earth’s lights at night also helps researchers track patterns in energy use and human activity around the planet. Responding to the white house’s call to action to create new technology and data mining approaches to help the research community address some COVID-19 questions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California uses artificial intelligence and natural language technologies to extract medical diagnoses, medical conditions, and drug and disease information from a database of 25,000+ publications. This information helps scientist understand transmission, Incubation, and environmental stability of the virus. What has been published about those who have been infected, what we know about COVID-19 risk factors, and what is known about non-pharmaceutical inventions, The information was made public to the research community on March, 23.
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake uses hardware for the Vascular Echo experiment. As humans get older on Earth, arteries stiffen and this causes an increase in blood pressure (hypertension) and elevates the risk for cardiovascular disease. Recently, it has been observed that some crew members returning from the International Space Station (ISS) have much stiffer arteries than when they went into space. The results from studying these changes could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain crew member health, and quality of life for everyone.
NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, will use its supercomputer to crunch extremely complex and high volumes of data to help with COVID-19. The sophisticated computing can process massive numbers of calculations related to bioinformatics, epidemiology and molecular modeling, helping scientists develop answers to complex scientific questions about COVID-19 in hours or days versus weeks or months.
Studies on the ISS
Studies on the ISS
The Japanese Experiment Module, has been experimenting with High-Quality Protein Crystal Growths. A protein that causes a disease and a medicine suppress it work together much like a keyhole and a key. Determining the shape of the keyhole and structure can help researchers find a key to fit the keyhole. And thats exactly what researchers on the ISS are trying to find. Scientists are growing protein crystals to design to be keys to unlock the keyholes to some of the diseases on Earth.
The High-Quality Protein Crystal Growth (PGC) experiment on the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo is one example of trying to find the keys to disease. Kibo is a partnership with a Tokyo-based biopharmaceutical company PeptiDream Inc. PeptiDream Inc teamed up with the Japanese Exploration Agency (JAXA) to increase the amount of experimental protein samples, or keys, investigated.
Space-tested Fluid Flow Advances Infectious Disease Diagnoses
Space-tested Fluid Flow Advances Infectious Disease Diagnoses
A low energy medical device might makes its way to the most remote areas of the world with limited accessible power sources near by. This device has the ability to diagnose diseases and viruses on sight and with a reduced need for energy and on site diagnosis less time would be needed for identifying a virus and disease so people can get to treating the disease.
The device that could quickly identify diseases such as HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis relies on a deeper understanding of capillary flow. That deeper understanding is the result of research conducted on the ISS.
Capillary flow, also known as wicking, is the ability of a liquid to flow without the assistance of gravity and other external forces. It even works in opposition to those forces. When you stick a straw into a glass of water, the water will rise perhaps a few millimeters in the straw before you begin to drink through it. Or consider how a paper towel will draw, or wick, liquid into it.The effect of capillary forces is more dramatic in the absence of gravity. For example, the water would rise and completely fill a straw before you began to drink through it. CFE was a basic fluid physics investigation that refined our understanding of how capillary action helps fluids flow. The principle has application in many fluid handling systems—from fuel tanks to cooling systems to medical devices. Cell samples in the form of bodily fluids or blood are placed in medical devices. Enzymes burst the samples, leaving behind DNA or RNA, which is then captured on a bead that is processed by the device to identify the infectious virus. Capillary flow such as that studied by CFE is used to manage and direct the flow of the cell samples inside the device.
The ISS is a pioneer in health research and experimentation of new devices that can be used in the health field. Until they disband or discontinue the ISS it will continue to work and make scientific breakthroughs and machines that will help mankind excel and become the healthier versions of ourselves in the future and years to come.
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