In the Spotlight:
Space Biology Principal Investigators Drs. Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul (both from the University of Florida) have successfully grown Arabidopsis plants in lunar soil.
“This research is critical to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals as we’ll need to use resources found on the Moon and Mars to develop food sources for future astronauts living and operating in deep space,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This fundamental plant growth research is also a key example of how NASA is working to unlock agricultural innovations that could help us understand how plants might overcome stressful conditions in food-scarce areas here on Earth.”
Hear more about this research on the NASA podcast 'Gravity Assist' or read more about this research on the NASA website.
Drs. Paul and Ferl have published an article in the journal Communications Biology on their experiments with lunar regolith; “Plants grown in Apollo lunar regolith present stress-associated transcriptomes that inform prospects for lunar exploration”
Image: Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul looking at the plates filled part with lunar soil and part with control soils, now under LED growing lights.
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NASA Selects Biology for Priority Artemis Science on Moon
The Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) call for proposals selections were announced on June 2, and we're excited to report a biology experiment has been selected as one of the two investigations!
 The second selected investigation, the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA) science suite, is a small CubeSat-based device. LEIA will provide biological research on the Moon – which cannot be simulated or replicated with high fidelity on the Earth or International Space Station – by delivering the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the lunar surface and studying its response to radiation and lunar gravity. S. cerevisiae is an important model of human biology, especially in the areas of genetics, cellular and molecular replication and division processes, and DNA damage response to environmental factors such as radiation.
The data returned by LEIA, in conjunction with previously existing data from other biological studies, could help scientists answer a decades-old question of how partial gravity and actual deep space radiation in combination influence biological processes. Dr. Andrew Settles of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California will lead the LEIA payload suite.
Read the full announcement here. |
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Dr. Rob Ferl Honored with a NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal
 Congratulations to Dr. Rob Ferl of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences on being awarded NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's prestigious Exceptional Public Service Medal. From optimal crop growth on Earth to growing food on long-duration space missions, Dr. Ferl's research with #spaceplants has benefits both on our home planet and beyond. Learn more about the research here.
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 Spaceflight News
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XROOTS Radish and Mustard Plant Growth Experiment Initiated on ISS
 The first spaceflight plant growth experiment in the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) was initiated on the International Space Station on May 17 when radish and mizuna mustard seed cartridges were placed in the XROOTS root modules then nutrient solution was added to initiate germination. Two water and nutrient distribution methods are being tested:
1. Spray (two root modules)
2. ebb/flow (two root modules).
In addition to the two water and nutrient delivery distribution systems, two seed planting patterns (cross and parallel) and two internal geometric configurations for the root modules are being tested. The plants will be grown for 30 days then the plant tissue will be harvested and returned to Kennedy Space Center for analysis. XROOTS, a hydroponic and aeroponic plant growth system developed by Sierra Space, was integrated with one of the ISS Vegetable Production Systems (Veggie) in April, with data and power connections made to the EXPRESS Rack.
XROOTS is managed by the Kennedy Space Center Space Biology team and sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate Biological and Physical Sciences and the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
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 Follow NASA Space Science on Twitter!
@NASASpaceSci
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 New Discoveries
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CAMDLES (CFD-DEM Artificial Microgravity Developments for Living Ecosystem Simulation)
During the 2021 Space Life Sciences Training Program, mechanical engineering student Rocky An of Cornell University conducted an independent project using a computer to model the stress responses of microbes to spaceflight microgravity and simulated microgravity.
Using Computational Fluid Dynamics / Discrete Element Method modeling, Rocky simulated a microbial model community of metabolically cooperative strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. His analysis found the greatest difference between microgravity and a microgravity analog facility - a rotating wall vessel (RWV) - or 1 g gravity when species colocalized in dense aggregates.
He also investigated the influence of other features of the system on growth, such as spatial distribution, product yields, and diffusivity. Based on study simulations, he found artificial microgravity to have an amplifying effect on mass transfer and metabolite uptake compared to microgravity and a diminishing impact on sedimentation compared to 1 g gravity. Results indicate that the RWV effect on population growth rate is unclear and specific to the microbial community of study.
For microbes that accompany humans into space, microgravity-induced alterations in the fluid environment are likely to be a major factor in the microbial experience of spaceflight. Computational modeling is needed to investigate how ground-based microgravity simulation methods replicate that experience. This first implementation of CAMDLES demonstrates the importance of a microbial cell’s immediate physical environment on population- and community-level behaviors, especially in the space environment and in experiments meant to simulate the space environment. CAMDLES represents the computational tool capable of providing biologists with unprecedented insight into those interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes.
 This research was funded by the Space Life Sciences Training Program and Space Biology. Rocky An, a student at Cornel University was a Research Associate during the 2021 cohort and worked with Ames Research Center Scientist Dr. Jessica Lee. This research was completed as part of his individual project. The article is available online here.
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Spaceflight-Associated Vascular Remodeling and Gene Expression in Mouse Calvaria
 Dr. Alan Hargens of the University of California, San Diego presents his findings from his participation in the Bion-M1 mission. Gene expression analyses indicate the two key genes involved in the blood vessel and bone generation could be responsible for gravity sensing in the mouse skull cap, known as the calvaria. It has been found that a gain in bone mass may occur in non-load bearing regions of the body (such as the skull) due to microgravity-induced cephalad fluid shift.
These studies of mouse skull calvaria demonstrate the influence of the fluid shift associated with microgravity on bone remodeling independent of skeletal loading. The findings may be considered in the development of strategies to counter the bone loss in astronauts and patients confined to bed rest.
This research was funded by Space Biology grant, "Rodent spine deconditioning after 30 days of microgravity" to Dr. Alan Hargens. Alan R. Hargens, Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the Orthopaedic Clinical Physiology Lab at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). His research concerns gravity effects on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems of humans and animals.
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Find us at Facebook.com/spacebiology.
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 Events & Opportunities
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Transform to Open Science (TOPS) Offering Open Courses
 The Transform to Open Science (TOPS) mission will allow us to create a scientific culture that is ready for 21st century challenges. Open Science will broaden participation, increase accessibility to knowledge, and embrace new technologies that can respond to these changes at scale.
This is a paid opportunity. Life scientists are encouraged to apply.
To accelerate adoption of Open Science, we need to train 20K+ scientists in the principles and practices. We are developing an interactive, open course on open science and want to work with the existing community. AGU is seeking open science experts for the OpenCore module development. There are 5 modules, which include the ethos of open science, open tools and resources, open software, open data, and open results. We are seeking experts in all these areas.
Module leads = 10K, Module experts = 3K.
Applications are due June 15. It only takes around 5 minutes to complete
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Open Source Science Data Repositories Workshop September 27 - 30
 This is an open event that will be of interest to researchers, big data teams, and archivists at the Science Mission Directorate Data Repositories along with mission and community members working in these areas. This workshop is a follow-on to the previous Data Repositories Workshop hosted at Glenn Research Center back in 2018. The September 2022 Data Repositories Workshop will cover the following primary themes:
- Cloud Computing for Open Source Science
- Science Discovery Engine (SDE) and data standards
- Transform to Open Science (TOPS)
- SMD policies and resources related to Open Science
One of the goals of the workshop is to encourage cross-disciplinary discussions. The workshop format will include an opportunity for each of the divisions to highlight the work of their data repositories along with "unconference" sessions determined by participant interest. More information will be forthcoming in June and posted at the Open Source Science Initiative website. Please feel free to share with others who would be interested.
The workshop is designed to be virtual with an in-person option at a location to be confirmed.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this event, please reach out to Steve Crawford at Steven.M.Crawford@nasa.gov.
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 Funding Resources for Prospective Researchers
Are you a researcher and wondering where you can find funding opportunities to enable your research to be flown to the orbiting laboratory? There are several sources of funding available to scientists to be used for research and development, payload development, payload processing at NASA facilities, on-orbit operation, and more. Visit this link for a guide to online funding information for space station research.
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Biospecimen Sharing Program
Share | Research | Discover
 Rodent Research-18 (RR-18) Readaptation Biospecimen Sharing Program Dissections are Complete!
The RR-18 study, led by Dr. Vivien Mao from Loma Linda University, focuses on evaluating the mechanisms of response and remodeling in the eyes after exposure to space hazards. The mice were launched on SpaceX-24 in December 2021 and a subset of the mice returned to Earth on January 24, 2022. Some of the mice from this return group were sent to Loma Linda University to readapt to Earth’s gravity for several months. The Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) dissections of the readaptation portion group of the RR-18 experiment were successfully completed at Loma Linda University, CA from April 27 – May 9, 2022. The BSP Team collected over 500 vials of tissues not utilized by the RR-18 study and turned over the samples to the NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC) at the end of the dissections. The tissues will be available for request on the Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA) biospecimen portal soon!
Additional tissues from the on-orbit group will be added after the culmination of the RR-18 experiment in Summer 2022.
Check out NBISC to learn more about NBISC and how to request these biospecimens.
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