Eureka! OBPR News
Research Announcement: Research Opportunities in Physical Sciences - Combustion Science Proposal Submission Window Open
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Research Announcement: Research Opportunities in Physical Sciences
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
NASA and the American Library Association Bring Space to the Bookshelf
Category: Education
NASA Cataract Study May Help Astronauts See Clearly
Category: Biological Sciences Research
December Issue of Space RAD Health: The Newsletter of the Space Radiation Health Project Available
Category: General
Dateline: December 13, 2001.
The Space RAD Health is the newsletter of the Space Radiation Health Project whos goal is to achieve human exploration and development of space without exceeding an acceptable level of risk from exposure to space radiation.
For the
full story
on radiation research and to view the newsletter, visit the Space Radiation Health Project Web site.
Also see other
OBPR Program Newsletters
.
Fire and Radiation Safety Get New Emphasis From Space Research
Category: General
Dateline: December 12, 2001.
As crews from the United States and its partners assemble the International Space Station (ISS), the casual observer may miss an underlying emphasis on safety that makes the work sometimes appear effortless. While the general public may be concerned about safety in space only after an accident or a catastrophe, NASA has ongoing commitments to ensure that vital equipment does not fail on the ground or in flight and to reduce occupational hazards for ground and flight crews. Supporting research on in-orbit fire prevention, detection, and extinction and on the effects of space radiation and shielding is one way NASA meets these commitments.
Read the
full story
in the cover story written for the inaugural issue of
Space Research
the new OBPR Newsletter.
Conjuring Crystals
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: December 11, 2001.
Discovered in space, an amazing method for growing well-ordered crystals is working here on Earth, too. NASA scientists are figuring out the physics behind the procedure, which researchers call "detached Bridgman growth."
Read the
full story
on this research in the Physical Sciences discipline of Materials Science at the Science @ NASA Web site.
Floating Fertility
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: November 21, 2001.
Researchers have found that gravity -- either too much or too little of it -- affects the behavior of sperm in puzzling ways.
Read the
full story
on this OBPR sponsored research on the Science @NASA Web site.
Also read the
OBPR press release
on this very interesting research.
Summer Issue of Microgravity News Now Available Online
Category: General
Dateline: November 21, 2001.
When Microgravity News subscribers go to their mailboxes late this year, they may be surprised to find a new publication.
Space Research
? What the heck is this?" they might wonder. Well, it's what
Microgravity News
has always been - and a lot more.
This issue of Microgravity News is the last as it will be superseded by
Space Research
the soon to be published quarterly news magazine of the Office of Biological and Physical Research.
The challenge of developing a rigorous and world-class research program that helps eliminate barriers to the understanding of significant scientific issues is OBPR's major responsibility. Important scientific issues of the new century will require effective inter-disciplinary approaches and will benefit from a new viewpoint. OBPR can provide a solid interdisciplinary research community and will employ gravity as a controlled, adjustable variable. To that end the new publication
Space Research
will help keep you informed on our progress. Stay tuned for information on the inaugural issue.
Read a
history
of the
Microgravity News
publication. Read the
Summer 2001
issue of Microgravity News (7.5 MB PDF).
Laser Cooling Puts the Freeze on Fast-Moving Atoms
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: November 21, 2001.
Slowing down atoms enough to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate is a tricky undertaking that involves the trapping and cooling of atoms to extremely low temperatures.
Read the
full story
on OBPR fundamental physics research in Bose-Einstein condensation.
Selection Announcement: Joint NASA/NCI Research to Develop Sensors for Health Monitoring Inside the Human Body
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Selection Announcement: NASA Announces Research Grants in Microgravity Fluid Physics
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
International Space Station Management and Cost Evaluation Task Force
Category: General
Executive Secretary, NASA Advisory Council
Mail Code IH
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546Read the task force complete report from the NASA Headquarters FTP site (480 kB PDF).
Research Opportunity: Multiple Opportunities for Ground-Based Research in Space Life Sciences
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
- Investigators submitting individual, independent projects to the Biomedical Research and Countermeasures Program or the Space Human Factors Engineering element of the Advanced Human Support Technology Program
- Investigators who wish to become members of an existing team of NASA’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute
- Investigators who wish to propose testing a proven biomedical countermeasure for use on the International Space Station using a bed rest microgravity model through the NASA Johnson Space Center Countermeasure Evaluation and Validation Program
Research Opportunity: Fundamental Space Biology - Ground Based Research
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Spring Issue of Microgravity News Now Available Online
Category: General
Dateline: November 9, 2001.
This issue of Microgravity News is the next to the last as it will be superseded by
Space Research
the soon to be published quarterly news magazine of the Office of Biological and Physical Research.
Read the
Spring 2001
issue of
Microgravity News
(4 MB PDF).
Combustion Under Pressure - A New Understanding Revealed
Category: Physical Sciences Research
NASA ISS NGO Internal Study Report Available for Public Review
Category: ISS NGO
Selection Announcement: NASA Selects Research Proposals in Advanced Human Support Technologies
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
New ISS Results in the Research On Station Section
Category: ISS Research Results
Dateline: October 19, 2001.
New results have been added for the on-going investigations aboard the International Space Station. The experiments include
Physics of Colloids in Space (PCS)
,
Effects of EVA and Long-Term Exposure to Microgravity on Pulmonary Function (PuFF)
,
Advanced Astroculture
,
Crew Earth Observations
,
Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle-School Students (EarthKAM)
, EXPRESS Racks, and
Crewmember and Crew-ground Interactions During International Space Station Missions (Interactions)
.All these results and more detailed experiment information can be read in the
Research on Station
section of SpaceResearch.nasa.gov
New Changes In The SPACELINE Space Life Sciences Bibliographic Database
Category: OBPR Announcements
Dateline: October 16, 2001.
Since 1995, the SPACELINE database has provided bibliographic information about space life sciences research publications, including research derived from NASA support and research conducted throughout the world. SPACELINE has undergone significant changes and its information can now be found in a very different manner. Developed with the support of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research and in collaboration with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), SPACELINE has existed as a separate specialized database at NLM. Now, the content of SPACELINE is being integrated directly into NLM's primary search systems.
The main changes are:
- SPACELINE's bibliographic records have now been merged into NLM's primary search systems.
- Journal articles can be found in PubMed Books, chapters, technical reports, and meeting papers are in LOCATORplus Meeting abstracts and older (pre-1966) journal article records are available via Gateway.
- All of the types of publications listed above, and therefore all space life sciences publications, can be found via Gateway, a comprehensive search interface.
- Approximately 7,200 records of journal articles relevant to the space life sciences, previously created by the SPACELINE Project and available in SPACELINE, are now in PubMed as MEDLINE records.
- A space "limit" is now available in PubMed that permits limiting searches to a subset of space life sciences-related records only. A similar limit will be available in Gateway at a later date.
- SPACELINE no longer exists as a separate, distinct database. The name SPACELINE will continue to be used by the project (and its web site ) that acts on behalf of NASA to collect and disseminate information about space life sciences research publications. Retrieved bibliographic records will now be termed "space" records or "space life sciences" records, not SPACELINE records.
These changes provide greater flexibility for searchers interested in finding space life sciences publications. Searchers have the choice of either searching only the space life sciences subset, or not using the limit and finding space records as part of the entire biomedical literature. The changes permit the biomedical research community to have easy access to some of these "space" records for the first time, and therefore will markedly increase the visibility and accessibility of this information. The long-term objective of NASA and the SPACELINE project -- eventually integrating space life sciences-related records into NLM databases like MEDLINE, while maintaining the capability to uniquely search for space records -- is nearing completion.
For details about these changes and updates go to the SPACELINE Project Website.
Space Research Provides New Evidence On The Role of Gravity in Fertilization
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: October 12, 2001.
NASA researchers have uncovered evidence that gravity, or the lack thereof, may play an important role in the development and evolution of life. The study suggests fertilization is gravity-sensitive and works differently in the near-weightless environment of space than it does here on Earth.
Using sperm from tiny sea urchins, the research team conducted both ground- and space-based experiments to examine the impact gravity has on the reproduction process.
Read the
full story
in the NASA Press Release and read the
abstract
of the paper in the journal
Biology of Reproduction
.
NASA-Funded Physicist Shares Nobel Prize
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: October 10, 2001.
The 2001 Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to three scientists, including a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle, whose NASA-funded research uses ultra-cold atoms that form a new type of matter.
Read the
full story
in the NASA Press Release.
Read
detailed technical information
on Dr. Ketterle's NASA project in the OBPR Task Book.
New Research On Station Section of SpaceResearch.nasa.gov
Category: General
Dateline: October 5, 2001.
OBPR announces the newest section of the SpaceResearch.nasa.gov Web site:
Research on Station
. The new section is your source for information on all experiment payloads and research facilities on the International Space Station- past, present, and future.
Read more on the
Research on Station
, located in the Research and Projects section of SpaceResearch.nasa.gov under "Space Research".
Good Vibrations May Prevent Bone Loss in Space
Category: Biological Sciences Research
High-Flying Chemistry
Category: Education
Dateline: October 1, 2001.
Students lose weight, charge batteries as part of NASA's reduced-gravity program
In early August as part of NASA's Reduced-Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, a team of chemistry students from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Hattiesburg, flew aboard the "Weightless Wonder V," a KC-135A turbojet similar to a commercial Boeing 707, and learned that being a chemist can sure be a lot of fun.
Read the
full story
in Chemical and Engineering News.
Space Bones
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: October 1, 2001.
Weightlessness sure looks like a lot of fun, but prolonged exposure to zero-G in space can have some negative side effects -- like the weakening of human bones!
Space travelers aren't the only ones who worry about bone loss. At least 10 million people suffer from bone loss in the U.S. and untold numbers worldwide -- it's called osteoporosis. Researchers hope that solving the riddle of bone loss in space will reveal important clues about what causes osteoporosis right here on Earth.
Read the
full story
on how NASA's Office of Physical and Biological Research is tackling puzzles like osteoporosis through space research on the Science @NASA Web site.
Researchers Study Fire in Space
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: September 26, 2001.
Far from a fire department and with nowhere to escape, astronauts caught in a space shuttle fire face few options.
What would they do?
This is one of the questions that a UC Berkeley professor is trying to answer. Working in the NASA-funded Microgravity Combustion Laboratory, UC Berkeley engineering professor Carlos Fernandez-Pello and his students have set out to better understand how materials burn in space and what can be done to ensure the safety of the astronauts.
Read the
full story
in the Daily Californian.
Suds In Space
Category: Commercial Research
Dateline: September 21, 2001.
Bubbly, frothing and ticklish -- soft drinks and beer promise a welcome taste of home to faraway space travelers. For the tradition of beer and its fizzy cousins to continue as people begin settling space, a few questions must first be answered.
Will fermentation work the same in weightlessness? What happens to carbonation when there's no buoyancy to bring the bubbles to the top? Can space beer form a proper head? Scientists who study the physics of gas-liquid mixtures would love to know!
Two separate space shuttle experiments tackled these questions. Both were engineered and mediated by BioServe Space Technologies, an OBPR-sponsored Commercial Space Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Read the
full story
on the Science @NASA Web site.
Selection Announcement: NASA Selects Phase I SBIR Proposals
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Dateline: September 11, 2001.
As part of the NASA 2001 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, 54 companies have been awarded 3.8 million dollars to perform research and development on OBPR-needed technology. The OBPR related topics were Cross-Disciplinary Physical Sciences, Fundamental Space Biology, Biomedical and Human Support Research, and Research Integration.
Read the
full story
and view the
selection lists
on the NASA SBIR/STTR Web site.
Bizarre Boiling
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: September 10, 2001.
The next time you're watching a pot of water boil, perhaps for coffee or a cup of soup, pause for a moment and consider: what would this look like in space? Would the turbulent bubbles rise or fall? And how big would they be? Would the liquid stay in the pan at all?
Watching liquids boil in low gravity is an out-of-this-world experience (in this story you can see for yourself). The strangely turbulent liquids have plenty of entertainment value, and they're teaching scientists some important physics lessons, too.
Read the
full story
and view quicktime movies on the Science @NASA Web site.
Read
more
about Fluid Physics research in OPBR's Fundamental Microgravity Research in the Physical Sciences.
Students Taking Part in Biological Crystal Growth Flight Experiments
Category: Education
Dateline: September 7, 2001.
The International Space Station (ISS) is proving to be not only a useful tool for research, but also a valuable educational tool. In 1999, more than 100 high school students participated in preparing and loading samples of protein crystal solutions that were carried to the ISS September 8, 2000, on Space Shuttle Atlantis.The Student Access to Space Program allowed students to contribute to protein crystal growth (PCG) experiments that may one day lead to improved drug design and treatment of disease. In addition, the program exposed the students to real-world science, enabling them to see how such advanced, seemingly esoteric research is made possible through the actions of everyday people, such as laboratory technicians, computer programmers, and research scientists.
Read the
full story
written by the
Microgravity News
staff at Hampton Univeristy.
Molecules, Motors and Monorails: Learning from Nanoscience
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: September 7, 2001.
Researchers funded by OBPR's Physical Sciences Division are studying how nature's machines, transport systems, and communications systems work at this nanoscale so they can mimic those systems and interact with them. As they learn from the endless lessons nature has to teach, they are developing instruments and methodologies to work with molecules and components of cells that may enable more efficient space travel and change the world's approach to health care, manufacturing, electronics, and numerous other enterprises.
Read the
full story
written by the
Microgravity News
Staff at Hampton University.
Conference & Exhibit on International Space Station Utilization - 2001
Category: Meeting Announcements
Wide Awake in Outer Space
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: September 4, 2001.
Space travel can be exciting -- and restless! OBPR researchers are exploring ways to help astronauts enjoy a better night's sleep on the space station ... and beyond.
Astronauts sleep poorly in space, and it's no wonder. Just consider: the excitement of blasting off on a powerful rocket, the strange sensations of floating in free-fall, the novelty of mornings that return every 90 minutes... Who could sleep through all that?
Read the
full story
on the Science @NASA Web site. For
technical information
on the OBPR investigators' project,
Sleep-Wake Actigraphy Monitoring During Spaceflight
, see the OBPR research taskbook.
The Structures of Life
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: September 4, 2001.
The National Institutes of Health has published an excellent primer on the research field of structural biology in a booklet entitled the "Structures of Life" (NIH Pub. No. 01-2778, printed 2001, 60 pages). New directions in OBPR's
macromolecular biotechnology research
, based on the National Research Council's
review of the OBPR Biotechnology Program
, will head in this direction.
This full-color booklet, geared toward an advanced high school or early college-level audience, explains how structural biology provides insight into health and disease and is useful in developing new medications. The booklet features "Student Snapshots" designed to inspire young people to consider careers in biomedical research. It also includes review questions at the end of each chapter.
An future update to this brochure will feature the NASA macromolecular crystallization program results.
Download
the booklet in PDF format (8 MB) or visit the NIH Publications Web site to
request
a printed copy.
Big Cures Come in Small Packages
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: August 31, 2001.
R&D - News of science, medicine, and technology: Nanotechnology has become shorthand for gee-whiz miniature devices that may never find practical uses. At Rice University in Texas, however, tiny constructions called nanoshells have shown promise for fighting cancer and administering drugs. The devices are simple enough: beads about three millionths of an inch wide, with an outer metal wall and an inner silicon core. But by varying the size ratio between wall and core, electrical and computer engineer Naomi Halas and her Rice colleagues can tune the shells precisely to absorb or scatter specific wavelengths of light. "Small particles of gold absorb green light very strongly and look red," says Halas. "It's partly because of the metal and partly because of the shape, so we're controlling the shells' color by changing the shape."
Read
more
on this work funded in part by OBPR in the September issue of
Discover Magazine
.
Genes in Microgravity
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: August 31, 2001.
Here's news: Researchers say that some cells know how to regrow the part of the body they came from - if they're floating along in the space shuttle.
Lab tests conducted on the space shuttle confirm that some genes become more active in microgravity. That means space might turn out to be an ideal place to learn about growing human tissue and creating replacement organs started from a person's own cells.
Read the
full story
about the OBPR research on gene expression and the potential applications to disease treatments in space in the Septermber issue of
Discover Magazine
.
Research Opportunity: Materials Science - Ground-based Research Opportunities in Biomaterials and Radiation Shielding
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Cooperative Agreement Notice: Amendment to the NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Latest Image from the Physics of Colloids in Space Experiment on the ISS
Category: ISS Research Results
Dateline: August 8, 2001.
During the past week aboard the International Space Station, a science team at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland conducted four scheduled tests using the Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space.
One of the latest images from the Physics of Colloids in Space (EXPPCS) sample on the International Space Station. Over the next year, eight different colloidal suspensions will be studied. Colloids, such as paint, ink and milk, are comprised of fine particles suspended in a fluid. The colored regions in this image of a Colloid-Polymer sample result when the sample is illuminated by white light. The sample and sample cell split the white light into its component colors, much like raindrops split sunlight into a rainbow. The bright spots in the image are relatively large crystallites forming from a mixture of colloid and polymer suspended in a liquid. Scientists varied the amount and concentration of polymer in each mixture to cause the solutions to act like fluid, glass, crystals or gels.
Adding polymer to colloidal suspensions creates desirable properties in everyday products such as paints and coatings. One of the objectives of EXPPCS is to provide a deeper study of the phase behavior of Colloid-Polymers that could lead to improved products and processes dependent upon this type of colloidal behavior.
Read
more
on the Physics of Colloids in Space Experiment at the Principal Investigator's Web site.
Read the latest
science status
at the International Space Station Science Operations Web site.
Mixed Up in Space
Category: General
Dateline: August 7, 2001.
Humans can become confused and disoriented -- and even a little queasy -- in an alien world where up and down have no meaning.
Imagine waking up, startled by the bright flash of a cosmic ray inside your eyes. Groggy from sleep, you wonder ... which way is up? And where are my arms and legs? Throw in a dash of vertigo and occasional mild illusions, and you're beginning to sense what it can be like to live in orbit.
Consider, for example, "up" and "down." On Earth we always know which way is up because gravity tell us. Sensors in the inner ear, which are part of the body's vestibular system, can feel the pull of gravity. They signal the brain with information about our body's orientation. In space, however, the vestibular system doesn't sense the familiar pull of gravity. The world can suddenly seem topsy-turvy.
Read the
full story
about how astronauts adapt to space and the OBPR research being done to develop "countermeasures" against maladies like space sickness, at the Science @ NASA web site.
ISS To Study Ovarian Cancer Cells
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: August 7, 2001.
When the space shuttle Discovery blasts off on its next mission (STS-105), it will take ovarian cancer into space for the first time.
Part of a joint project between University of South Florida College of Medicine and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the ovarian cancer cells are headed to the International Space Station to grow for two weeks in a near-gravity-free environment. The goal is to develop three- dimensional cancer cell clusters that function more like cancer in humans than the two-dimensional cell cultures traditionally grown in petri dishes.
In space researchers can grow larger, more advanced 3-D cell masses and actually determine whether there is a difference in cell function between microgravity on earth and the real thing. "We eventually need to apply what we learn from microgravity studies at the cellular level to animals and humans," Dr. Becker said. "This can only be accomplished by scientists on long space missions.
In addition to the ovarian cancer cell line provided by Dr. Becker, experiments with kidney epithelial cells, colon cancer cells and neuroendocrine cells, supplied by three other investigators, will be conducted in space. This will be the first set of cell culture studies to be performed aboard the International Space Station.
Read the
full story
in Space Daily.
Gravity Hurts (so Good)
Category: General
Dateline: August 2, 2001.
Gravity hurts: you can feel it hoisting a loaded backpack or pushing a bike up a hill. But lack of gravity hurts, too: when astronauts return from long-term stints in space, they sometimes need to be carried away in stretchers.
Gravity is not just a force, it's also a signal -- a signal that tells the body how to act. For one thing, it tells muscles and bones how strong they must be. In zero-G, muscles atrophy quickly, because the body perceives it does not need them. The muscles used to fight gravity --like those in the calves and spine, which maintain posture-- can lose around 20 per cent of their mass if you don't use them. Muscle mass can vanish at a rate as high as 5% a week. For bones, the loss can be even more extreme. Bones in space atrophy at a rate of about 1% a month, and models suggest that the total loss could reach 40 to 60 per cent.
Read the
full story
on what strange things can happen to the human body when people venture into space -- and the familiar pull of gravity vanishes, at the Science @NASA Web site.
Suspended in Space: Researchers Make Important Discovery about Materials
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: July 31, 2001.
An OBPR-funded study in materials science has yielded a discovery of a new approach for suspending fine particles in fluids that may significantly change the way electronics, paint, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries develop products.
According to a paper which appears in the July 31st issue of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
, the authors have devised a process that stabilizes particles in fluids to prevent them from otherwise organizing themselves or coagulating into a disordered gel-like structure. The authors have named this approach "nanoparticle haloing."
"Paint is an example of a fluid that contains suspended colloidal particles. If such particles become unstable, they clump together causing the paint to thicken substantially. This limits the product's shelf life. By using the nanoparticle haloing approach, we can control the behavior and structure of materials in fluids," said OBPR researcher and professor at the University of Illinois, Dr. Jennifer Lewis.
Read the
full story
in the NASA press release. Read more
technical information
and download the
article
on the Investigator's web site.
OBPR Participates in Human Frontier Science Program
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: July 26, 2001.
NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research is pleased to announce its 10th year of participation in the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). The HFSP supports basic research, through international collaboration, whose goal is to further our understanding of complex mechanisms of living organisms, including humans. HFSP research supports brain and biological functions at the molecular level, with a particular focus on bringing scientists from diverse fields such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science and engineering together with biologists to facilitate our understanding of complex biological systems.
HFSP grant applications and long-term fellowship applications are subjected to rigorous scientific peer-review overseen by the HFSP Board of Trustees. Research Grants are awarded for projects that involve extensive collaboration among teams of scientists working in different countries. Emphasis is on novel collaborations that bring together scientists from different countries and different disciplines. Applications are accepted annually each Spring for the support of research grants, fellowships and workshops.
For
more details
regarding the program's history, organization and research opportunities see the Human Frontier Science Program Web site.
Space Seeds Return to Earth
Category: Commercial Research
Dateline: July 25, 2001.
Seed pods from a commercial gardening experiment aboard the ISS are back on our planet. The far-out pods could hold the key to long-term habitation of space.
When the space shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth this morning, it brought home some unusual cargo -- seed pods grown in space. They're the harvest of an 8-week-long commercial gardening experiment on board the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts on the ISS have been tending a batch of fast-growing Arabidopsis plants (better known as "mustard weed") to discover whether plants can complete their entire seed-to-seed life cycle in a weightless environment.
For the
full story
see the Science @NASA Web site.
New OBPR Solicitation Websites
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
- Click the hyper link for New User, which will take you to the Personal Information Search Page;
- Enter your first and last name. SYS-EYFUS will search for your record information in SYS-EYFUS;
- All records with first and last name entered will be displayed. Choose the correct record, select continue, and a user ID and password will be e-mailed to you; or
- Choose None of the Above, select continue, and a New User Form will be displayed for you to enter your personal information;
- If no records are found, select Add Record and the New User Form will be displayed;
- Follow the on-line instructions and prompts to submit your personal information and a user ID and password will be e-mailed to you.
Research Opportunity: NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) for Advanced Life Support
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Fluid Physics Experiment Hardware Featured in Photonics Spectra
Category: General
Dateline: July 13, 2001.
The July 2001 issue of Photonics Spectra featured an article on the Physics of Colloids in Space (PCS) experiment. The article covered the benefits of studying colloids, mentioned PCS as an experiment currently in operation over a 12-month period on ISS, provided a full color picture taken of one of the samples in a crystallized state during 1-g testing, and mentioned the commercial cameras that are used by PCS.
Colloid engineering is the concept that crystallized structures based on colloidal self-assembly can be made into tools. Materials that have a mixture of small, optically inert spheres combined with liquid crystals can be used as optical filters or optical switches.
Proposed by condensed-matter physicist
David Weitz of Harvard University
in Cambridge, Mass., the Physics of Colloids in Space experiment took off April 19 on the space shuttle Endeavour. It will take about 2000 hours over the next 12 months, in scheduled four- to 48-hour time blocks, to complete.
Read the
Full Story
in
Photonics Specta
. Also see other PCS news items in the
Current ISS Research Rusults Page
or the
2001 Archive Page of ISS Research Rusults
,
NASA's Microgravity Research Brings New Insight To Cataract Detection
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: July 12, 2001.
"Eye exams of the future using fiber-optic probes may find signs of disease and age-related blindness much earlier than current opthalmology methods."
"As a result of NASA Glenn's microgravity research work concerning the harmful effects of extended space exploration on astronauts, the medical community might soon be able to look into a patient's eyes and detect a range of diseases long before symptoms appear. Cataracts, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and Alzheimer's disease are four specific areas being thoroughly studied using new techniques and space-age devices. Manuel B. Datiles III at the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has already completed the first phase of clinical testing for detecting cataracts using NASA's technological advancement."
This work is jointly sponsored by OBPR and the National Eye Institute under a NASA-NIH cooperative agreement.
This article appeared on the May/June cover of
Medical Design News
. Read the
Full Story
in the online version of
Medical Design News
.
Proceedings of the Sixth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop
Category: Meeting Announcements
Cooperative Agreement Notice: NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
OBPR Fluid Physics PIs Produce Multimedia CD-ROM: Multimedia Fluid Mechanics
Category: Education
Dateline: July 6, 2001.
OBPR Fluid Physics investigators Professors G. M. Homsy and H. Aref, led the production of this multimedia book on fluid mechanics that has been hailed as "remarkable success".
The review in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics mentions: "The visual appeal of fluid flows offers marvelous opportunities for teaching. A well designed classroom demonstration not only serves to remind students that our subject is concerned with real-world phenomena, it also provides a different perspective on an unfamiliar topic, and can sometimes convey a sense of fun or wonder. Many undergraduate textbooks show photographs of fluid flows. Many lecturers illustrate their courses by using Van Dyke's (black-and-white) album, and to demonstrate unsteady phenomena show movies, e. g., the films produced in the NCFMC series. Homsy and his colleagues have now provided us with a new and powerful teaching aid: a CD-ROM that includes several hundred video clips. The clips are mainly in color, some are taken from the old films and many are new. There is no audio commentary. The CD is intended to be played, and played with, by individual students on their computers. It is not merely a video library however. This CD is an ambitious project, and, in my view, it has been accomplished with remarkable success."
For more
details and to purchase
the CD-ROM, see the Cambridge University Press Web site.
How Fast Does The World Turn? New Quantum Gyro May Tell Us
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: July 5, 2001.
A discovery that may someday help measure how clouds and earthquakes change Earth's rotation has come from an experiment that made friction-free helium whistle.
By manipulating ultra-cold liquid helium-3 in a hollow, doughnut-shaped container, NASA-funded scientists at the University of California at Berkeley produced a whistling sound that got louder or quieter depending on the orientation relative to the North Pole and Earth's rotation. These new findings might provide an unusual new way to measure such changes.
"Current Earth rotation measurement techniques are not sensitive enough to detect rotational changes caused by earthquakes, even those as large as magnitude 8," said Dr. Richard Gross, a geoscientist at JPL. "If we had more sensitive techniques, like those being developed by Dr. Packard, then we could measure the effects on Earth's rotation. That would help us better understand Earth's structure."
This research program was conducted under a grant from NASA's Biological and Physical Research Program. Packard co-authored the paper, which will appear in the July 5 issue of
Nature
.
Read the
full story
in the JPL press release. Read more
technical information
or download the
Nature article
on the Investigators' web sites.
Space Cadets: Students Conduct Combustion Experiments on the Weightless Wonder
Category: Education
Dateline: July 5, 2001.
Ever wonder what it's like to be in microgravity and do experiments? Follow along with students from the University of Alabama at Birminham, taking part in the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program sponsored by NASA and overseen by the University of Texas at Austin, as they conduct an experiment on flames in microgravity.
Read the
full story
in the June issue of Mechanical Engineering Magazine, a publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
The Man Who Defies Gravity
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Dateline: July 2, 2001.
"Chuck Rosenblatt can levitate liquid. For the Case Westen Reserve University Physicist and his research team, the fun feat is a means to many ends."
Chuck Rosenblatt’s interest in using magnets to levitate fluids dates back more than fifteen years. This article about his OBPR sponsored research in the area of liquid crystals was written by freelance writer, Kristin Ohlson, appears in the spring issue of CWRU Magazine.
For the
full story
see the CWRU Magazine Web site.
Also see the
CWRU Liquid Crystal Physics and Complex Fluids Group
Web site, which contains research descriptions, images and movies.
Research Opportunity: STS-107 Biospecimen Sharing Plan
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Selection Announcement: OBPR Selects Research Proposals in Cellular and Macromolecular Biotechnology
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
OBPR's Dr. Kathie L. Olsen receives NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal
Category: General
Dateline: June 21, 2001.
Dr. Olsen received the 2001 Outstanding Leadership Medal, which stated:
"For outstanding leadership as Chief Scientist in developing the Agency biology plan, which grew under your supervision into NASA's Fifth Strategic Enterprise: the Office of Biological and Physical Research."
For a
biographical sketch
of Dr. Olsen, see the Quest Web site.
OBPR Related Gordon Research Conferences
Category: Meeting Announcements
Dateline: June 12, 2001.
OBPR is supporting two Gordon Research Conferences this year. The Gordon Research Conferences provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies.
July 1-6:
Gravitational Effects on Living Systems: Mechanosensing
July 8-13:
Gravitational Effects in Physico-Chemical Systems: Interfacial Effects
For
general information
, see the the Gordon Research Conferences Web site.
Jellyplants on Mars
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: June 1, 2001.
Scientists are creating a new breed of glowing plants --part mustard and part jellyfish-- to help humans explore Mars.
The first colonists on Mars probably won't be humans. More likely, they'll be plants. And the prototypes of these leafy pioneers are under development right now. As part of an OBPR funded research project, University of Florida professor Rob Ferl is bioengineering tiny mustard plants.
He's not altering these plants so that they can adapt more easily to Martian conditions. Instead, he's adding reporter genes: part plant, part glowing jellyfish -- so that these diminutive explorers can send messages back to Earth about how they are faring on another planet.
For the
full story
see the Science @ NASA Web site. Also, read a
similar article
on CNN.com
Physics of Colloids in Space Experiment Activated on the ISS
Category: ISS Research Results
Dateline: May 31, 2001.
Physics of Colloids in Space (PCS) experiment was successfully activated on Thursday, May 31st. This fluid physics experiment probes morphology and rheology of colloids. Professor David Weitz (Harvard University) expects the information from this experiment to enable "colloid engineering" and lead to the development of novel photonic crystals and advance nanoscale self-assembly.
During an extended period of instrument operations later in the day, a moderate number of hardware component functional checkouts were performed, with the PCS hardware performing well. The first visual images from PCS were successfully captured and downloaded. Initial examination of these images show that these samples appear to be in good condition.
Form
more information
see Professor Weitz's Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Group Website.
Research Opportunity: Flight Experiments in Space Life Sciences and Space Sciences
Category: OBPR Research Announcements
Cell Biology Update: A Decade of Simulating Space on Earth
Category: Biological Sciences Research
An article about the psychological issues of long term space travel is featured in Discover Magazine: "Can We Go to Mars Without Going Crazy?"
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: April 17, 2001.
"Forget about the technical problems. What we really have to worry about is what seven astronauts will do to one another after being locked up in a tiny capsule for nine months."
"On a manned mission to the Red Planet, the biggest challenge will most likely be keeping the crew's spirits up, tempers down, and minds sharp for three years and an 800-million-mile round-trip. "
For an article
summary
see the May 2001 issue of
Discover Magazine
. A full text of this article can be found in the print issue of the magazine.
For more information on OBPR research in this area, search the "Behavior and Performance" element of the Biomedical Research and Countermeasures Program in the
OBPR Life Sciences Taskbook
.
Virtual Take Our Daughters To Work Day
Category: Education
Dateline: April 17, 2001.
NASA invites you to interact with our nation's coolest, brightest, most intriguing and talented women and men who develop and utilize breakthrough technologies that benefit our world!
Join us during our live webcast coming up April 26th as Susan Helms, the first female astronaut to live on board the International Space Station, answers some of your questions. Submit your questions now (4/6 - 4/26), and NASA will select the best questions and send them up to Susan Helms on board the International Space Station.
For all the
details
see the Quest Web site.
Swiss Cheese-Like Gas Cloud Holds Clues To Starquakes
Category: Physical Sciences Research
New ISS Research Results: EGN DEWAR Returns on ISS Shuttle Flight 5A.1
Category: ISS Research Results
"Scientists Bring Light to Full Stop, Hold It, Then Send It on Its Way"
Category: Physical Sciences Research
NASA Research Simulates How Cold Stars Stay in Shape
Category: Physical Sciences Research
Astronauts and Dyslexia Research
Category: General
Pan-Pacific Basin Workshop Announcement
Category: Meeting Announcements
An Article on "The Body in Space" Appears in National Geographic Magazine
Category: Biological Sciences Research
Dateline: January 1, 2001.
A voyage to
Mars
may be every astronaut's dream, but the health risks to even the most superbly conditioned earthlings are formidable indeed."
For the
full story
see the January 2001 issue of
National Geographic Magazine
.
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