Like many chemicals in the body, the three-dimensional structure of insulin is extremely complex. When grown on the ground, insulin crystals do not grow as large or as ordered as researchers desire--obscuring the blueprint of the insulin molecules.
Dr. Alexander Chernov, of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and based at Marshall Space Flight Center, is investigating why protein crystals grown in space are, in about 20 percent of cases, better-ordered than those grown on the ground. They are testing the idea that the amount of impurities trapped by space-grown crystals may be different than the amount trapped by crystals grown on Earth because convection is negligible in microgravity. The concentrations or impurities in many space-grown crystals turned out to be several times lower than that in the terrestrial ones, sometimes below the detection limit. The ground-based experiment also showed that the amount of impurities per unit volume of the crystals was usually higher than the amount per unit volume of the solution. This means that a growing crystal actually purifies the solution in its immediate vicinity. Here, an impurity depletion zone is created around apoferritin crystals grown in gel, imitating microgravity conditions.
S74-19677 (April 1974) --- This crystal of Germanium Selenide (GeSe) was grown under weightless conditions in an electric furnace aboard the Skylab space station. Experiment M556, Vapor Growth of IV-VI Compounds, was conducted as a comparative test of GeSe crystals grown on Earth and those grown in a weightless environment. Skylab postflight results indicate that crystals grown in a zero-gravity situation demonstrate greater growth and better composite structure than those grown in ground-bases laboratories. The GeSe crystal shown here is 20 millimeters long, the largest crystal ever grown on Earth or in space. Principal Investigator for Experiment M556 is Dr. Harry Wiedemaier, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. (See NASA photograph S74-19676 for an example of an Earth-grown Germanium Selenide crystal.) Photo credit: NASA
This image shows crystals of the protein raf kinase grown on Earth (photo a) and on USML-2 (photo b). The space-grown crystals are an order of magnitude larger. Principal Investigator: Dan Carter of New Century Pharmaceuticals
Comparison of Germanium Telluride (GeTe) Crystals grown on Earth (left) and in space (right) during the Skylab SL-3 mission. These crystals were grown using a vapor transport crystal growth method in the Multipurpose Electric Furnace System (MEFS). Crystals grown on earth are needles and platelettes with distorted surfaces and hollow growth habits. The length of the ground-based needle is approximately 2 mm and the average lenth of the platelets is 1 mm. The dull appearance of the Skylab crystals resulted from condensation of the transport agent during the long cooling period dictated by the Skylab furnace. In a dedicated process, this would be prevented by removing the ampoule from the furnace and quenching the vapor source.
The comparison of protein crystal, Recombiant Human Insulin; space-grown (left) and earth-grown (right). On STS-60, Spacehab II indicated that space-grown crystals are larger and of greater optical clarity than their earth-grown counterparts. Recombiant Human Insulin facilitates the incorporation of glucose into cells. In diabetics, there is either a decrease in or complete lack of insulin, thereby leading to several harmful complications. Principal Investigator is Larry DeLucas.
iss057e106231 (Nov. 26, 2018) --- European Space Agency (ESA) asrtonaut Alexander Gerst uses a uses a pipette to transfer a protein solution into the Protein Crystal Growth Card for an experiment observing protein crystals associated with Parkinson’s disease to potentially improve treatments on Earth. Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (CASIS PCG 16) evaluates growth of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein crystals in microgravity. LRRK2 is implicated in Parkinson’s disease, but crystals of the protein grown on Earth are too small and compact to study. Detailed analysis of larger, space-grown crystals can define the protein’s exact shape and morphology and help scientists better understand the disease’s pathology.
iss057e106419 (Nov. 30, 2018) --- Samples from the Protein Crystal Growth Card are examined using a microscope for an experiment observing protein crystals associated with Parkinson’s disease to potentially improve treatments on Earth. Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (CASIS PCG 16) evaluates growth of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein crystals in microgravity. LRRK2 is implicated in Parkinson’s disease, but crystals of the protein grown on Earth are too small and compact to study. Detailed analysis of larger, space-grown crystals can define the protein’s exact shape and morphology and help scientists better understand the disease’s pathology.
iss057e106417 (Nov. 30, 2018) --- Samples from the Protein Crystal Growth Card are examined using a microscope for an experiment observing protein crystals associated with Parkinson’s disease to potentially improve treatments on Earth. Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (CASIS PCG 16) evaluates growth of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein crystals in microgravity. LRRK2 is implicated in Parkinson’s disease, but crystals of the protein grown on Earth are too small and compact to study. Detailed analysis of larger, space-grown crystals can define the protein’s exact shape and morphology and help scientists better understand the disease’s pathology.
The structure of the Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Viurus (STMV)--one of the smallest viruses known--has been successfully reduced using STMV crystals grown aboard the Space Shuttle in 1992 and 1994. The STMV crystals were up to 30 times the volume of any seen in the laboratory. At the time they gave the best resolution data ever obtained on any virus crystal. STMV is a small icosahedral plant virus, consisting of a protein shell made up of 60 identical protein subunits of molecular weight 17,500. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, in contrast to the crystals grown on Earth, the crystals grown under microgravity conditions were visually perfect, with no striations or clumping of crystals. Furthermore, the x-ray diffraction data obtained from the space-grown crystals was of a much higher quality than the best data available at that time from ground-based crystals. This stylized ribbon model shows the protein coat in white and the nucleic acid in yellow. STMV is used because it is a simple protein to work with; studies are unrelated to tobacco. Credit: Dr. Alex McPherson, University of California at Irvin.
The structure of the Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Virus (STMV)--one of the smallest viruses known--has been successfully deduced using STMV crystals grown aboard the Space Shuttle in 1992 and 1994. The STMV crystals were up to 30 times the volume of any seen in the laboratory. At the same time they gave the best resolution data ever obtained on any virus crystal. STMV is a small icosahedral plant virus, consisting of a protein shell made up of 60 identical protein subunits of molecular weight 17,500. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, in contrast to the crystal grown on Earth, the crystals grown under microgravity conditions were viusally perfect, with no striations or clumping of crystals. Furthermore, the X-ray diffraction data obtained from the space-grown crystals was of a much higher quality than the best data available at that time from ground-based crystals. This computer model shows the external coating or capsid. STMV is used because it is a simple protein to work with; studies are unrelated to tobacco. Credit: Dr. Alex McPherson, Univeristy of California at Irvin.
A collage of protein and virus crystals, many of which were grown on the U.S. Space Shuttle or Russian Space Station, Mir. The crystals include the proteins canavalin; mouse monoclonal antibody; a sweet protein, thaumatin; and a fungal protease. Viruses are represented here by crystals of turnip yellow mosaic virus and satellite tobacco mosaic virus. The crystals are photographed under polarized light (thus causing the colors) and range in size from a few hundred microns in edge length up to more than a millimeter. All the crystals are grown from aqueous solutions and are useful for X-ray diffraction analysis. Credit: Dr. Alex McPherson, University of California, Irvine.
Samples of zinc-alloyed cadmium mercury grown on Earth (1g) and in space (ug) are shown at the same magnification. The space-grown crystal has a more uniform microstructure. Flown on STS-50 USML-1.
iss058e002064 (1/6/2019) --- CASIS PCG 16 floating in front of Window 7 in the Cupola module. Earth is in the background. Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (CASIS PCG 16) evaluates growth of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein crystals in microgravity. LRRK2 is implicated in Parkinson’s disease, but crystals of the protein grown on Earth are too small and compact to study. Detailed analysis of larger, space-grown crystals can define the protein’s exact shape and morphology and help scientists better understand the disease’s pathology.
jsc2024e038396 (6/5/2024) --- Insulin crystals grown with Redwire's PIL-BOX aboard the International Space Station. This image was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. This control compound helps the body convert food into energy and store it for later use. The ADSEP-PIL-02 investigation aims to study the effect of microgramInsulin crystals grown with Redwire's PIL-BOX aboard the International Space Station. This image was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. This control compound helps the body convert food into energy and store it for later use. The In-Space Production Application – Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – 02 (InSPA-PIL-02) (ADSEP-PIL-02) investigation aims to study the effect of microgravity on the production of various types of crystals. Image courtesy of Redwire. on the production of various types of crystals. Image courtesy of Redwire.
Experiments with colloidal solutions of plastic microspheres suspended in a liquid serve as models of how molecules interact and form crystals. For the Dynamics of Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition (CDOT) experiment, Paul Chaikin of Princeton University has identified effects that are attributable to Earth's gravity and demonstrated that experiments are needed in the microgravity of orbit. Space experiments have produced unexpected dendritic (snowflake-like) structures. To date, the largest hard sphere crystal grown is a 3 mm single crystal grown at the cool end of a ground sample. At least two more additional flight experiments are plarned aboard the International Space Station. This image is from a video downlink.
The comparison of protein crystal, Isocitrate Lyase earth-grown (left) and space-grown (right). This is a target enzyme for fungicides. A better understanding of this enzyme should lead to the discovery of more potent fungicides to treat serious crop diseases such as rice blast; it regulates the flow of metabolic intermediates required for cell growth. Principal Investigator is Larry DeLucas.
High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron, of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski (shown), of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank, of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.
High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron, of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski, of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank (shown), of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.
High school students screen crystals of various proteins that are part of the ground-based work that supports Alexander McPherson's protein crystal growth experiment. The students also prepared and stored samples in the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar, which was launched on the STS-98 mission for delivery to the ISS. The crystals grown on the ground will be compared with crystals grown in orbit. Participants include Joseph Negron (shown), of Terry Parker High School, Jacksonville, Florida; Megan Miskowski, of Ridgeview High School, Orange Park, Florida; and Sam Swank, of Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach, Florida. The proteins are placed in plastic tubing that is heat-sealed at the ends, then flash-frozen and preserved in a liquid nitrogen Dewar. Aboard the ISS, the nitrogen will be allowed to evaporated so the samples thaw and then slowly crystallize. They will be analyzed after return to Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.
iss055e010761 (4/5/2018) --- Photographic documentation of CASIS Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) -11 hardware during CS-DCB-Unpack2 activity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Neutron Crystallographic Studies of Human Acetylcholinesterase for the Design of Accelerated Reactivators (CASIS PCG 11) produces acetylcholinesterase crystals, a neurotransmitter enzyme. Crystals grown in microgravity are larger, of higher-quality and can be used for a technique called macromolecular neutron crystallography (MNC) to locate hydrogen atoms in the crystal’s structure.
iss055e010753 (4/5/2018) --- Photographic documentation of CASIS Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) -11 hardware during CS-DCB-Unpack2 activity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Neutron Crystallographic Studies of Human Acetylcholinesterase for the Design of Accelerated Reactivators (CASIS PCG 11) produces acetylcholinesterase crystals, a neurotransmitter enzyme. Crystals grown in microgravity are larger, of higher-quality and can be used for a technique called macromolecular neutron crystallography (MNC) to locate hydrogen atoms in the crystal’s structure.
jsc2021e007777 - Aeropyrum pernix Flap Endonuclease-1 (FEN-1) protein crystals are shown grown under Earth gravity conditions. FEN-1 serves as the experimental protein for the Phase II Real-time Protein Crystal Growth on Board the International Space Station (Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth-2) investigation. Image courtesy of University of Toledo.
jsc2025e044836 (9/29/2016) --- Silver nitrate crystals grown in microgravity as part of NanoRacks-Crystallization Of Silver Nitrate in Microgravity On a Silver Cathode (NanoRacks-COSMOS). This investigation is designed to assess the 3D structure of silver nitrate crystals formed by electrolysis in microgravity. Results benefit the development of nanoscale electronics, which could be used in spacecraft and instruments on future space missions. Image courtesy of Dave Schlichting.
jsc2024e038397 (6/5/2024) --- Lysozyme crystals grown with Redwire’s PIL-BOX aboard the International Space Station. This image was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. This protein, found in bodily fluids like tears, saliva, and milk, is used as a control compound to demonstrate well-formed crystals. Lysozyme plays a vital role in innate immunity, protecting against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The In-Space Production Application – Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – 02 (InSPA-PIL-02) (ADSEP-PIL-02) investigation aims to study the effect of microgravity on various types of crystals production. Image courtesy of Redwire.
jsc2024e038399 (6/5/2024) --- Glycine crystals grown with Redwire's PIL-BOX aboard the International Space Station. This image was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. Glycine is an amino acid which serves many functions in the human body such as a neurotransmitter, a component in collagen, and a building block for other important molecules. The Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory-03 (ADSEP-PIL-03) investigation grows crystals of several commercially relevant small molecules, each having various structures that may be altered by a microgravity environment. Image courtesy of Redwire.
jsc2024e038398 (6/5/2024) --- Famoxadone crystals grown with Redwire's PIL-BOX aboard the International Space Station. This image was taken after the crystals returned to Earth in April 2024. This small-molecule antifungal agent protects crops against fungal diseases like downy mildew and blights on potatoes, lettuce, grapes, and vegetables. The Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory-03 (ADSEP-PIL-03) investigation grows crystals of several commercially relevant small molecules, each having various structures that may be altered by a microgravity environment. Image courtesy of Redwire.
This computer graphic depicts the relative complexity of crystallizing large proteins in order to study their structures through x-ray crystallography. Insulin is a vital protein whose structure has several subtle points that scientists are still trying to determine. Large molecules such as insuline are complex with structures that are comparatively difficult to understand. For comparison, a sugar molecule (which many people have grown as hard crystals in science glass) and a water molecule are shown. These images were produced with the Macmolecule program. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
The Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials Processing (CAMMP), a NASA-sponsored Research Partnership Center, is working to improve zeolite materials for storing hydrogen fuel. CAMMP is also applying zeolites to detergents, optical cables, gas and vapor detection for environmental monitoring and control, and chemical production techniques that significantly reduce by-products that are hazardous to the environment. Shown here are zeolite crystals (top) grown in a ground control experiment and grown in microgravity on the USML-2 mission (bottom). Zeolite experiments have also been conducted aboard the International Space Station.
To the crystallographer, this may not be a diamond but it is just as priceless. A Lysozyme crystal grown in orbit looks great under a microscope, but the real test is X-ray crystallography. The colors are caused by polarizing filters. Proteins can form crystals generated by rows and columns of molecules that form up like soldiers on a parade ground. Shining X-rays through a crystal will produce a pattern of dots that can be decoded to reveal the arrangement of the atoms in the molecules making up the crystal. Like the troops in formation, uniformity and order are everything in X-ray crystallography. X-rays have much shorter wavelengths than visible light, so the best looking crystals under the microscope won't necessarily pass muster under the X-rays. In order to have crystals to use for X-ray diffraction studies, crystals need to be fairly large and well ordered. Scientists also need lots of crystals since exposure to air, the process of X-raying them, and other factors destroy them. Growing protein crystals in space has yielded striking results. Lysozyme's structure is well known and it has become a standard in many crystallization studies on Earth and in space.
The reproduction process of all strains of influenza are dependent on the same enzyme neuraminidase. Pharmaceutical companies have been developing drugs that can inhibit the function of neuraminidase hoping to create an effective weapon against the flu. Researchers from the pharmaceutical industry and from the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography have grown crystals of neuraminidase in space. These improved, space-grown crystals have provided information that have helped design drugs which form a stronger interaction with the enzyme. These drugs inhibit neuraminidase by attaching themselves to the enzyme. Since the drugs are less likely to detach from the enzyme, they are more effective, require smaller dosages, and have fewer side effects. Shown here is a segmented representation of the neuraminidase inhibitor compound sitting inside a cave-like contour of the neuraminidase enzyme surface. This cave-like formation present in every neuraminidase enzyme is the active site crucial to the flu's ability to infect. The space-grown crystals of neuraminidase have provided significant new details about the three-dimensional characteristics of this active site thus allowing researchers to design drugs that fit tighter into the site. Principal Investigator: Dr. Larry DeLucas
iss056e160897 (Aug. 31, 2018) --- NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold performs microscope photo document operations for the Protein Crystal Growth-13 (PCG13) experiment. The PCG13 investigation seeks to enhance the way crystals are grown in a microgravity environment by allowing crew members to observe imperfections within a crystal and make real-time adjustments to follow-up experiments, rather than returning a sample to Earth and relaunching to try again. This dramatically reduces the time it takes to conduct an experiment aboard the space station and creates a timely, realistic and more cost-effective solution for prospective researchers.
jsc2025e067417 (8/5/2025) --- Microscopic image of a semimetal-semiconductor composite (SSC) wafer extracted from one of four crystals grown in the International Space Station’s SUBSA facility during the first SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug mission. Credit: United Semiconductors LLC
jsc2025e067416 (8/5/2025) --- Microscopic image of a semimetal-semiconductor composite (SSC) wafer extracted from one of four crystals grown in the International Space Station’s SUBSA facility during the first SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug mission. Credit: United Semiconductors LLC
jsc2025e067418 (8/5/2025) --- Microscopic image of a semimetal-semiconductor composite (SSC) wafer extracted from one of four crystals grown in the International Space Station’s SUBSA facility during the first SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug mission. Credit: United Semiconductors LLC
jsc2025e067415 (8/5/2025) --- Microscopic image of a semimetal-semiconductor composite (SSC) wafer extracted from one of four crystals grown in the International Space Station’s SUBSA facility during the first SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug mission. Credit: United Semiconductors LLC
Diabetic patients may someday reduce their insulin injections and lead more normal lives because of new insights gained through innovative space research in which insulin crystals were grown on the Space Shuttle. Results from a 1994 insulin crystals growth experiment in space are leading to a new understanding of protein insulin. Lack of insulin is the cause of diabetes, a disease that accounts for one-seventh of the nation's health care costs. Champion Deivanaygam, a researcher at the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, assists in this work. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Diabetic patients may someday reduce their insulin injections and lead more normal lives because of new insights gained through irnovative space research in which insulin crystals were grown on the Space Shuttle. Results from a 1994 insulin crystal growth experiment in space are leading to a new understanding of protein insulin. Lack of insulin is the cause of diabetes, a desease that accounts for one-seventh of the nation's health care costs. Dr. Marianna Long, associate director of the Center of Macromolecular Crystallography at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a co-investigator on the research. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
University of Alabama engineer Lance Weiss briefs NASA astronaut Dr. Bornie Dunbar about the design and capabilities of the X-ray Crystallography Facility under development at the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, April 21, 1999. The X-ray Crystallography Facility is designed to speed the collection of protein structure information from crystals grown aboard the International Space Station. By measuring and mapping the protein crystal structure in space, researchers will avoid exposing the delicate crystals to the rigors of space travel and make important research data available to scientists much faster. The X-ray Crystallography facility is being designed and developed by the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a NASA Commercial Space Center.
University of Alabama engineer Stacey Giles briefs NASA astronaut Dr. Bornie Dunbar about the design and capabilities of the X-ray Crystallography Facility under development at the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, April 21, 1999. The X-ray Crystallography Facility is designed to speed the collection of protein structure information from crystals grown aboard the International Space Station. By measuring and mapping the protein crystal structure in space, researchers will avoid exposing the delicate crystals to the rigors of space travel and make important research data available to scientists much faster. The X-ray Crystallography facility is being designed and developed by the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a NASA Commercial Space Center.
STS50-262-004 (25 June-9 July 1992) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, STS-50 pilot, holds an autoclave used in the growing of zeolite crystals on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. He is standing near the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) furnace, which is housed in the space of two stowage lockers. On the 14-day U.S. Microgravity Laboratory mission, zeolite crystals were grown in 38 individual autoclaves, which were joined in pairs to be inserted into the 19 furnace orifices. While the autoclaves appear the same externally, there are several types of internal arrangements that were tested to determine which one provides the best mixing of the component solutions. The portrait of alternate payload specialist Albert Sacco, Jr. is mounted nearby. Sacco, serving as a ground controller at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, worked in conjunction with the red shift crew in the science module.
The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), flown on three Space Shuttle missions, is yielding new insights into virtually all industrially relevant metal and alloy forming operations. IDGE used transparent organic liquids that form dendrites (treelike structures) similar to the crystals that form inside metal alloys. Comparing Earth-based and space-based dentrite growth velocity, tip size and shape provid a better understanding of the fundamentals of dentritic growth, including gravity's effects. These shadowgraphic images show succinonitrile (SCN) dentrites growing in a melt (liquid). The space-grown crystals also have cleaner, better defined sidebranches. IDGE was developed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institude (RPI) and NASA/ Glenn Research Center(GRC). Advanced follow-on experiments are being developed for flight on the International Space Station. Photo gredit: NASA/Glenn Research Center
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - John Cassanto (center), with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., explains the use of the apparatus used for experiments on mission STS-107. At left is Barry Perlman, with Pembroke Pines Middle School in Florida; at right is Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society. The box was part of the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 that included the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS) experiment and crystals grown for cancer research. The GOBBSS experiment was sponsored by the Planetary Society, with joint participation of an Israeli and a Palestinian student, and developed by the Israeli Aerospace Medical Institute and JSC Astrobiology Center.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - George D'Heilly, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., Barry Perlman, with Pembroke Pines Middle School in Florida, John Cassanto, with ITA, and Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, talk to the media about the experiments recovered during the search for Columbia debris. They were part of the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 that included the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS) experiment and crystals grown for cancer research. The GOBBSS experiment was sponsored by the Planetary Society, with joint participation of an Israeli and a Palestinian student, and developed by the Israeli Aerospace Medical Institute and JSC Astrobiology Center.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Barry Perlman (left), with Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, talks to the media about some of the experiments recovered during the search for Columbia debris. At right are John Cassanto, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., and Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society. The Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 included the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS) experiment and crystals grown for cancer research. The GOBBSS experiment was sponsored by the Planetary Society, with joint participation of an Israeli and a Palestinian student, and developed by the Israeli Aerospace Medical Institute and JSC Astrobiology Center.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the background, scientists talk to the media about the experiments recovered during the search for Columbia debris. From left are George D'Heilly, with Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc.; Barry Perlman, with Pembroke Pines Middle School in Florida; John Cassanto, with ITA; and Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society. The Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 included the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS) experiment and crystals grown for cancer research. The GOBBSS experiment was sponsored by the Planetary Society, with joint participation of an Israeli and a Palestinian student, and developed by the Israeli Aerospace Medical Institute and JSC Astrobiology Center.
The loss of productivity due to flu is staggering. Costs range as much as $20 billio a year. High mutation rates of the flu virus have hindered development of new drugs or vaccines. The secret lies in a small molecule which is attached to the host cell's surface. Each flu virus, no matter what strain, must remove this small molecule to escape the host cell to spread infection. Using data from space and earth grown crystals, researchers from the Center of Macromolecular Crystallography (CMC) are desining drugs to bind with this protein's active site. This lock and key fit reduces the spread of flu in the body by blocking its escape route. In collaboration with its corporate partner, the CMC has refined drug structure in preparation for clinical trials. Tested and approved relief is expected to reach drugstores by year 2004.
This is a Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-65) onboard photo of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) in the cargo bay with Earth in the background. Mission objectives of IML-2 were to conduct science and technology investigations that required the low-gravity environment of space, with emphasis on experiments that studied the effects of microgravity on materials processes and living organisms. Materials science and life sciences are two of the most exciting areas of microgravity research because discoveries in these fields could greatly enhance the quality of life on Earth. If the structure of certain proteins can be determined by examining high-quality protein crystals grown in microgravity, advances can be made to improve the treatment of many human diseases. Electronic materials research in space may help us refine processes and make better products, such as computers, lasers, and other high-tech devices. The 14-nation European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (SCA), the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), the German Space Agency and the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DARA/DLR), and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) participated in developing hardware and experiments for the IML missions. The missions were managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The Orbiter Columbia was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 8, 1994 for the IML-2 mission.
Ribbons is a program developed at UAB used worldwide to graphically depict complicated protein structures in a simplified format. The program uses sophisticated computer systems to understand the implications of protein structures. The Influenza virus remains a major causative agent for a large number of deaths among the elderly and young children and huge economic losses due to illness. Finding a cure will have a general impact both on the basic research of viral pathologists of fast evolving infectious agents and clinical treatment of influenza virus infection. The reproduction process of all strains of influenza are dependent on the same enzyme neuraminidase. Shown here is a segmented representation of the neuraminidase inhibitor compound sitting inside a cave-like contour of the neuraminidase enzyme surface. This cave-like formation present in every neuraminidase enzyme is the active site crucial to the flu's ability to infect. The space-grown crystals of neuraminidase have provided significant new details about the three-dimensional characteristics of this active site thus allowing researchers to design drugs that fit tighter into the site. Principal Investigator: Dr. Larry DeLucas