NASA scientists collarborate with Russians on gravity studies(Forwarded)

Nicholas A. Veronico/Michael Mewhinney June 8, 2005
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-1939 or 650/604-9000
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NEWS RELEASE: 05-36AR

NASA SCIENTISTS COLLABORATE WITH RUSSIANS ON GRAVITY STUDIES

NASA scientists are collaborating with Russian colleagues in an
effort to learn more about cell growth in space.

At the invitation of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of
Biomedical Problems, investigators from NASA Ames Research Center in
California's Silicon Valley are participating in pre- and post-flight
science experiments designed to examine gravity's relationship to
biological processes. The experiments were launched May 31 aboard the
Russian Foton-M2 mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,
and will be recovered 16 days later when the capsule returns to Earth
near the border between Russia and Kazakhstan. The European Space
Agency and a number of other space agencies also are cooperating with
Russia on this mission.

"We have a rich history of highly productive research carried out on
Russian unmanned spacecraft over several decades. We are pleased to
be working with our Russian colleagues in support of the Vision for
Space Exploration," said Terri Lomax, deputy associate administrator
for research at NASA headquarters, Washington.

"Our collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Problems and the
experiments aboard the Foton spacecraft will help us understand how
the microgravity environment affects live organisms," said Eduardo
Almeida, NASA Ames principal investigator for both the gecko cell
growth and ribbed newt tissue regeneration studies.

Studies conducted with specimens flown aboard the Foton-M2 mission
will examine cell growth and morphological tissue changes in geckos,
cell proliferation and tissue regeneration of ribbed newts, gene
expression and neural re-adaptation of snail vestibular cells to
Earth's gravity, and spaceflight's effects on genetic structures in
bacteria.

"This is a unique study, and a unique opportunity to collaborate with
our Russian counterparts," Almeida said.

The two other American principal investigators, NASA Ames researcher
Richard Boyle, and Barry Pyle of Montana State University, Bozeman,
who are conducting separate studies, have been instrumental in
facilitating the scientific goals of the Foton-M2 mission. Boyle is
the NASA Ames science lead for Foton-M2 and is working with
investigators at Russia's Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and
Neurophysiology to study the neural and biochemical responses of
snail statocyst receptors, which play essentially the same role as a
human's inner ear in giving balance cues, following microgravity
exposure. They will investigate the process of re-adaptation to
Earth's gravity and how this affects coordination in the brain and
nervous system.

Pyle is participating in an experiment studying the transient and
permanent effects of spaceflight on genetic structures of the
bacteria Streptomyces lividins. Mike Skidmore, the NASA Ames-based
project manager, is teamed with his deputy, Marilyn Vasques, to
coordinate all aspects of the American participation in this
international Foton-M2 flight.

"We know that long-term space travel results in a loss of bone and
muscle mass. Our participation in the Foton mission will allow us to
accurately quantify the rates of cell growth in whole animals using
nucleotide analog markers. The results from this study will be used
to test our theory that gravity gives a signal for cells to grow, and
that it promotes stem cell-based tissue regeneration," said Almeida.

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