Ion Houston’s Post

Nice article highlighting student success stories with the Omics Lab! Check it out! 🚀🧬✈️ #Aerospacephysiology #Aerospacemedicine #omics #SpaceBiology #aerospace #EmbryRiddle #humanfactors #molecularbiology

Watch Live: - NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Sunday, April 28. The spacecraft will undock from the station's zenith port of the Harmony module at 1:05 p.m. and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station after receiving a command from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. The SpaceX Dragon arrived at the station March 23 and delivered more than 6,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware after it launched March 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy. After re-entering Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency's platfomrs including nasa.gov/nasatv. Dragon will carry back to Earth more than 4,100 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station's microgravity environment. Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA's Space Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth's gravity.  Scientific hardware and samples returning to Earth include Flawless Space Fibers-1, which produced over seven miles of optical fiber aboard the space station. Other studies include GEARS (Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space), which surveys the space station for antibiotic-resistant organisms, providing knowledge that informs measures designed to protect astronauts on future long-duration missions. Also returning on Dragon is MISSE-18 (Materials International Space Station Experiment-18-NASA), which analyzes how exposure to space affects the performance and durability of specific materials and components. Samples from Immune Cell Activation will return to Earth for analysis, helping develop novel therapeutics targeting central nervous system diseases and skin cancers such as melanoma.

NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Sunday, April 28. The spacecraft will undock from the station's zenith port of the Harmony module at 1:05 p.m. and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station after receiving a command from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. The SpaceX Dragon arrived at the station March 23 and delivered more than 6,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware after it launched March 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy. After re-entering Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency's space station blog. Dragon will carry back to Earth more than 4,100 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station's microgravity environment. Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA's Space Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth's gravity.  Scientific hardware and samples returning to Earth include Flawless Space Fibers-1, which produced over seven miles of optical fiber aboard the space station. Other studies include GEARS (Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space), which surveys the space station for antibiotic-resistant organisms, providing knowledge that informs measures designed to protect astronauts on future long-duration missions. Also returning on Dragon is MISSE-18 (Materials International Space Station Experiment-18-NASA), which analyzes how exposure to space affects the performance and durability of specific materials and components. Samples from Immune Cell Activation will return to Earth for analysis, helping develop novel therapeutics targeting central nervous system diseases and skin cancers such as melanoma.

As we venture into uncharted territory, there is a remarkable opportunity for healthcare startups to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of space health... Our newly launched space health accelerator program SPACE-H is open to GLOBAL pre-seed and seed-stage companies developing solutions that support human health and performance for space exploration and eventual habitation and/or that are manufactured in space to support health on Earth– From AI for System Level Autonomy, and Synthetic Data, Computational Biology, to Medical Devices, Sensors, Pharmaceuticals, and Biomedical Technologies. The 13-week virtual program is entirely free, and equity is not required in exchange for participation. Selected companies will receive individualized mentorship from Starburst and mentors, guidance for developing their solutions for use in space from space health subject matter experts, exposure to a network of over 2,000 external funders and investors in the A&D industry, insight into the ways that entrepreneurs can work with NASA and other space organizations, and more. Learn more about the challenge and program topics, and apply for the inaugural cohort through the link below! cc: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Translational Research Institute for Space Health, Microsoft, Elizabeth Reynolds, François Chopard, Jacob Squire, Kate Ludicrum #SPACEH #accelerator #spacehealth #biotech #dualuse #technology #startup #entrepreneur #founder #innovation

#Space exploration is spawning #innovation and infectious #motivation in #health research, technology, and practice that is not limited to space. As rocket science propels humanity farther from its Earthly womb, the most significant challenges and discoveries are in the #life sciences and our understanding of life itself.

TGen professors partner with scientists at UArizona Research, Innovation & Impact, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and SpaceX for a unique project 🚀 The University of Arizona’s Frederic Zenhausern, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine (who also an holds an adjunct appointment at TGen), and colleagues, including TGen’s John Altin, Ph.D., created the first molecular diagnostics kit for spaceflight certification in about 10 months and coordinated saliva and blood sample collections for multi-omics analyses. The flight also marked the first time that a civilian crew ran a complete test from fingerstick blood collection to detection during a space flight. The device's results were promising for space tourism, showing that crew members’ vitals after a three-day spaceflight did not differ from their pre-flight baselines. This study, part of a larger set of reports published in Nature on June 11, detailed the effects of spaceflight on diverse individuals. The comprehensive package included contributions from over 100 institutions in nearly 30 countries. “We originally developed the platform for mobile biothreat detection for the DOD, but when COVID-19 hit, NASA funded us to quickly adapt the technology into a handheld device for home testing,” said Zenhausern. “We were then invited to join the teams selected by NASA and Space X to develop a set of technologies to be tested by the Inspiration4 crew during the flight mission.” The scientists analyzed dried blood spot samples that four astronauts collected before, during and after their spaceflight. They used a high-dimensional genomic assay to monitor antibodies against 80 different viruses from these small samples, detecting stable antibody levels against many viruses, indicating previous exposures. They also observed changes in some antibody levels around the time of the flight, especially those targeting Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). This suggests increased activity of EBV, which usually stays dormant but can reactivate under stress. The stress of spaceflight and microgravity might explain these changes. It is important to note that this study had a small sample size, so researchers need to conduct further studies to confirm and expand these findings. Their hope is that the data will inform the development of future countermeasures for both private and government-sponsored space missions. “We anticipated that our tools for extracting large amounts of information from small, self-collected blood samples would enable unique field studies; but we never expected to use these methods in orbit. Their success boosts our confidence in deploying them on a larger scale in future missions, helping us better understand how spaceflight affects the interaction between microbes and the immune system,” said Altin.

Biofilms in space! Clogging equipment and potentially causing illness, biofilms present serious safety concerns for astronauts on the International Space Station. NASA is fighting back using a surface etched with a “nanoscale forest of pillars” infused with silicon oil. The new surface doesn’t kill bacteria directly, but it prevents their adhesion, making it much harder for germs to build up. The best part – it works even better in space than it does on Earth! Back home, biofilms can contaminate medical implants and are accountable for 80% of chronic infections, but they aren’t all bad. Stay tuned for more about the good side of biofilms! https://lnkd.in/gDD5Pb5X #biofilms #internationalspacestation NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Massachusetts Institute of Technology LiquiGlide

NASA’s pioneering Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment will be the first demonstration of laser, or optical, communications from as far away as Mars. Launching with NASA’s Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name on Thursday, Oct. 12, DSOC will test key technologies designed to enable future missions to transmit denser science data and even stream video from the Red Planet. Here are five things to know about this cutting-edge technology demonstration: 1. DSOC is the first time NASA will test how lasers could increase data transmission from deep space. 2. The tech demo involves equipment both in space and on Earth 3. DSOC will encounter unique challenges. 4. Cutting-edge technologies will work together to make sure the lasers are on target and high-bandwidth data is received from deep space. 5. This is NASA's latest optical communications project. More 👇 https://lnkd.in/dXS-mrqs

Embarking on new frontiers: #MolecularBiology meets #SpaceExploration. Since 2000, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration #astronauts aboard the International Space Station National Laboratory have been uncovering insights that Earthbound observation can't provide. And now, space-based #MicrobiologicalMonitoring is evolving. Learn more: https://ow.ly/fg4050PBnve #SpaceBiology #NASAExploration #InnovativeInsights #MolecularBiologyLaboratory

Starburst Aerospace is excited to launch our new Space-H program with our fantastic partners as we continue to advance our mission to support the entrepreneur, grow the dual-use innovation ecosystem, and play our part in sustaining American technology leadership. Elizabeth Reynolds, Starburst US Managing Director, elaborates below on the importance of biotech advancements to human spaceflight. However, the impact of this program will go well beyond human spaceflight. Biotechnology is one of 14 critical technologies identified by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and an Office of Strategic Capital investment priority. Biotech breakthroughs in support of space exploration have the potential to significantly increase readiness, improve conditions on Earth, and help preserve our way of life. Leveraging biological advancements could result in new ways to support energy conversion and storage, life saving treatments for Service Members, and protections against pandemic and other manmade or natural biological threats, among other benefits. We are excited to be on the front lines of this important effort.