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Growing bone in space: UCLA, CASIS, NASA team up to test stem cells and bone degeneration

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January 22, 2015

The International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

UCLA scientists researching bone-loss prevention strategies are set to begin trail that will ultimately see rodents sent up to the International Space Station.

The research team said they hope their work will lead to better treatment strategies for osteoporosis, more efficient methods of bone repair and ways to prevent bone loss during lengthy space travel.

With grant funding provided by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the UCLA study will focus on the efficacy of a molecule called NELL-1 in causing stem cells to trigger bone growth and halt bone degeneration.

NELL-1 holds tremendous hope,not onlyforpreventing bone lossbutone day even restoringhealthy bone, said team member Dr. Kang Ting,a professorin dentistryat UCLA. For patients who are bed-bound and suffering from bone loss, it could be life-changing.

The UCLA team will mostly be responsible for performing ground-based rodent trials of NELL-1, while NASA and CASIS will take responsibility for trials conducted aboard the ISS.

A group of 40 rodents will be sent to the International Space Station US National Laboratory onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, where they will live for two months in a microgravity environment during the first ever test of NELL-1 in space, said Julie Robinson,NASAs chief scientist for the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center.

The space-based studies will enable the examination of NELL-1 in way that would not be possible on Earth, the researchers said.

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Growing bone in space: UCLA, CASIS, NASA team up to test stem cells and bone degeneration

Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham: Ep. 4 – Space Station Infestation – Video

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Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham: Ep. 4 - Space Station Infestation
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Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham: Ep. 4 - Space Station Infestation - Video

Space Station worms' research potential is anything but flat

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IMAGE:These are image representations of live worms with single, bipolar, triple and quadruple heads for the Flatworm Regeneration investigation aboard the International Space Station. view more

Credit: Dr. Michael Levin, Tufts University

For years, it was assumed the world was flat. Now, we have a laboratory that orbits our big, blue marble. So, it's funny to think of returning to flatness aboard the International Space Station, but this outpost currently houses flatworms for research. The study of these creatures has the potential to be rather robust in implications for regenerative medicine, an area of treatment for repairing or replacing human cells, tissues or organs on Earth to restore normal function. A new study launched aboard SpaceX's fifth commercial resupply services (CRS) mission to the space station examines the reparative processes of flatworms in microgravity.

As flatworms age, or should they encounter cellular damage, they have the ability to renew their cells. For example, if they lose their tail, they can regrow it. A team of researchers from Kentucky Space LLC and the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, will use the worms to observe repair processes and wound-healing done by cells in space during the Flatworm Regeneration investigation. This insight could influence the development of medicine on Earth with new methods for repairing damaged tissue from injury or physical impairment.

"We are specifically looking at regenerative processes and applications that could be potentially valuable for use on Earth," said Kris Kimel, president and founder of Kentucky Space. "Much of what has been done in the past has been focused on astronaut health, and you can learn a lot from that, but we're focused primarily on the cellular and molecular level processes that could impact regenerative processes on Earth."

This investigation is a first step toward understanding how gravity affects an organism's mechanisms for repair and renewal. Researchers hope to map the cell signaling processes that help the worms' bodies locate cellular damage and instruct an area or appendage to regrow. They are observing the worms in space to find out how these processes may be disrupted by the lack of gravity.

The research implications not only apply to regenerative medicine, but also to technology development. Engineers may be able to create new algorithms - a set of steps used in mathematics or to design computer processes - based on the knowledge gained from flatworm study in orbit. This could lead to technology that employs these algorithms to reconfigure their own components and energy use in deep space.

Flatworms with amputated heads or tails are contained inside sealed test tubes for this study. The tubes were placed in Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware and loaded on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the station. This flatworm investigation does not require power or interaction from the station crew.

"It's a potentially valuable experiment in terms of the results, but in this first iteration, we're making it as self-sustaining as we can," said Kimel.

The research plan stipulates that the flatworms return alive upon landing. They are currently scheduled to return aboard Dragon at the conclusion of SpaceX CRS-5. The research team will analyze regeneration patterns of the space-flown worms and compare them with control worms living in similar conditions on Earth during the study time period.

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Space Station worms' research potential is anything but flat

UPDATE: Space Station Returns to Normal After Glitchy Ammonia Leak Alarm

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UPDATE:(NBC) -- Astronauts returned to the U.S. side of the International Space Station on Wednesday, hours after an apparent false alarm raised concerns about an ammonia leak and forced a partial evacuation.

The six crew members shut down the U.S. segment and hung out on the station's Russian side for much of the day while ground controllers went about troubleshooting the problem. Eleven hours after the alarm arose, mask-wearing astronauts went back in and sampled the air.

"No ammonia indication," NASA reported in a tweet.

The likeliest cause of the alarm was a malfunctioning card in a signal-processing box, NASA space station project manager Mike Suffredini said during a televised update.

"At this point, the team does not believe we leaked ammonia. ... What we are dealing with is a failure, probably of a card inside a multiplexer-demultiplexer," he said. The space station has a number of multiplexer-demultiplexer boxes that process readings from components aboard the orbital outpost, which has as much livable space as a six-bedroom house.

NASA said turning the box off and then back on cleared up the worrisome readings.

The alarm was raised at 4 a.m. ET, when Mission Control saw pressure changes that could have been caused by an internal leak in the station's coolant system, which uses water on an inside loop and toxic ammonia on an outside loop. "If this is possible, then we immediately 'safe' the vehicle and get the crew in a safe place," Suffredini said.

Crew members put on emergency masks, powered down the systems on the station's U.S.-built segment, moved into the Russian segment and closed a connecting hatch. The ammonia coolant system services only the U.S. side of the station, so controllers said there was no risk to the crew.

"The safety of the team was preserved thanks to swift actions of the cosmonauts and astronauts themselves and the team on the ground in Moscow and Houston," said Maksim Matyushin, the chief of Russia's Mission Control.

Follow-up readings indicated no sign of an actual ammonia leak into the station, although fluctuations in cabin pressure continued to cause concern. Suffredini said those fluctuations were probably the system's "normal reaction to the events that started to unfold."

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UPDATE: Space Station Returns to Normal After Glitchy Ammonia Leak Alarm

Zero-gravity ablution: it's hard to maintain German-style personal hygiene in space

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In 1969, US astronaut Russell Schweickart peed into a plastic receptacle in the Apollo 9 capsule on the way to the moon.

The condom-like vessel allowed Schweickart - and the other crew members - to relieve themselves in space.

But they often made a big mess when they removed the receptacle - painfully, they learnt that size does actually matter. The astronauts would reach for the largest of the three receptacles, when perhaps a smaller one was sufficient.

"You only make that mistake once," Schweickart said after his return.

Since then, going to the toilet in space has become easier.

Modern space toilets even allow astronauts a brief, intimate timeout. But personal hygiene remains one of the greatest challenges onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

German astronaut Reinhold Ewald, who stayed at the space station MIR, told DW he was often pushed to the edge of his own limits. "It's not for the highly sensitive," he said.

Make sure you buckle up for the ride

Astronauts have to belt themselves down to the space toilet. Strong sucking pressure allows them to relax on the throne, despite the zero gravity. For missions outside of the craft, diapers can be used.

Reuse everything

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Zero-gravity ablution: it's hard to maintain German-style personal hygiene in space

Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1/8) Movie CLIP – Unleashing Pinhead in Space (1996) HD – Video

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Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1/8) Movie CLIP - Unleashing Pinhead in Space (1996) HD
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Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1/8) Movie CLIP - Unleashing Pinhead in Space (1996) HD - Video


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