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Most
of us remember the highly publicized "John Glenn
mission" of 1998 as just that: John Glenn’s
mission. But when the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off
on Oct. 29, 1998, Senator Glenn wasn't the only science
experiment on board.
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| The shuttle was also equipped to study antibiotic
production in an orbiting laboratory. |
Microgravity
– the condition of near weightlessness that occurs
in orbital free fall – allows researchers to isolate
and then examine how gravity affects a wide range of biological
and physical processes. NASA microgravity research includes
flames in space, materials science, biology and much more.
A growing fraction of this low-gravity experimentation
is commercially driven. Researchers think that advances
in microgravity science will trigger down-to-earth improvements
in everything from internal combustion engines to medicines.
Above:
The Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-95) waiting for liftoff
on Oct. 29, 1998.
One
of the many medical experiments performed on STS-95 was
designed to study the growth rates and antibiotic production
of bacteria in low gravity. With the global annual market
for antibiotics valued at more than $US10 billion, scientists
hope to identify and replicate the conditions observed
in space that apparently enhance the production efficiency
of antibiotic compounds. Pilot studies by BioServe Space
Technologies and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical
Research Institute in the 1990s indicated that microbial
antibiotic production was increased by up to 200 percent
in space-grown cultures. The production of actinomycin
D on STS-95 was 75 percent higher in space. The benefits
of such findings could have widespread application in
improving production facilities on Earth.
Because
the payload on STS-95 was almost fully automated, crew
members grappled more with computer glitches than with
test tubes or pipettes. Sen. Glenn was not directly involved
with the antibiotic microgravity experiments.
The
STS-95 flight provided an important test of some critical
new BioServe hardware, called the Gas Exchange Fermentation
Apparatus, says Dr. David Klaus, an assistant professor
of aerospace engineering sciences at the University of
Colorado. Replacing test tubes with this device increased
antibiotic production substantially. Testing the device
in space was just one step in a multipart process that
may improve pharmaceutical production on Earth. The immediate
goal of the project is to understand what caused the increased
efficiency of production observed in space, and ultimately
to simulate these responses in ground facilities.
 Left:
Pilot studies to investigate microbial antibiotic production
in space were carried out by BioServe and Bristol-Myers
Squibb on shuttle missions STS-77 in May 1996 and STS-80
in November 1996. This picture shows a test tube full
of space grown colonies (right) alongside a matched ground
control (left). Production of Monorden in space was increased
up to 200% compared to the ground control. The STS-95
flight carried this experiment a step further. On that
mission, test tubes were replaced with a Gas Exchange
Fermentation Apparatus, which increased antibiotic production
even more. [more information from BioServe Space Technologies]
Klaus
is the Associate Director of Research for BioServe Space
Technologies, a NASA Commercial Space Center (CSC). CSCs
are consortia of government, academia and industry formed
to help the commercial sector realize the potential of
the space marketplace. NASA helps fund the development
of the hardware and provides access to space; industry
funds and drives the research; and academic institutions
serve as the focal point between the two. In this case
a partnership between researchers at the University of
Colorado and Kansas State University merges two disciplines
– aerospace engineering and biological sciences.
The alliance is part of an effort to foster commercial
applications stemming from NASA-industry relationships.
With
the antibiotic experiments carried out in space, researchers
bring back cultures and analyze cells and compounds to
see if and how they have changed. However, Klaus says
that the 10-14 day period in which a shuttle is typically
in orbit is often not long enough to decipher significant
changes or trends. To move beyond this shortcoming, a
2-4 month mission is scheduled for next year that will
take advantage of the long duration International Space
Station facilities.
 Right:
This computer rendering of the completed International
Space Station shows the U.S. Lab Module where many low-gravity
experiments will be performed.
Extended
exposure to microgravity on the Space Station will help
BioServe and Bristol-Myers Squibb researchers monitor
the antibiotics for long-term adaptations and determine
if they are beneficial. Klaus says the experiments will
involve "multiple sets of inoculation" –
growing and re-growing many generations in microgravity
and taking samples along the way to analyze production
rates and changes at various stages. April of 2001 is
the current launch date.
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