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NASA NTRS1986

Review of methodology and technology available for the detection of extrasolar planetary systems

Anyone undertaking an interstellar voyage might wish to be assured of the existence of a safe planetary harbor at the other end! Aside from the obvious interest of the participants in this Symposium, astronomers and astrophysicists are also eager to detect and study other planetary systems in order to better understand the formation of our own Solar System. Scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence argue that planets suitable for the evolution of life may abound elsewhere within our own Milky Way Galaxy. On theoretical grounds, they are probably correct, but they lack any observational support. For in spite of decades of claimed astrometric detections of planetary companions and the recent exciting and tantalizing observations from the IRAS satellite and the IR speckle observations of Van Biesbroeck 8 and other cool stars, there is no unambiguous proof for the existence of another planetary system beyond our own. In this paper we review the various methods for detecting extrasolar planets and briefly describe the Earth and space based technology currently available and discuss the near-term plans to implement these different search techniques. In each case an attempt is made to identify the limiting source of systematic error inherent to the methodology and to assess the potential for technological improvements.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1986

Man in space

The Challenger disaster focused attention on the hazards as well as the possibilities of man in space. The physiological effects of prolonged weightlessness include important changes in vestibular, bone, muscle, cardiovascular, blood, renal, and pulmonary function. Much has been learned from US and Soviet experiments, but large areas of ignorance remain. Exceptional opportunities for physiological research are provided by Spacelab, a pressurized laboratory planned as a payload of the Space Shuttle.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1987

How cereal grass shoots perceive and respond to gravity

The leaf-sheath pulvinus of grasses presents a unique system for studying gravitropism, primarily because of its differences from other organs. The mature pulvinus is a discrete organ specialized for gravitropism: it is nongrowing in the absence of gravistimulation and capable of displaying a graviresponse independent of the rest of the plant. In this paper we present a model for gravitropism in pulvini based on recent findings from studies on the mechanisms of graviperception and graviresponse. According to this model, amyloplasts play an essential role in perceiving a change in the orientation of the pulvinus. The perception of this reorientation leads to the enhanced synthesis and release from conjugate of the auxin IAA, and the increased conjugation of gibberellin, on a localized basis. Because there is a graded growth promotion across the gravistimulated pulvinus, it is suggested that the observed hormonal asymmetry is actually an indication of a linear gradient of hormone concentration, as well as hormone response, across the pulvinus. It is further suggested that the linear gradient of hormone concentration may be predominantly the result of local changes in hormone level, rather than a product of hormonal movement into or across the pulvinus.

NASA Discipline Number 40-99↗

NASA NTRS1996

Experimental models for cellular radiation targets: LET, RBE and radioprotectors

The topics of this presentation are: a brief review of the early research, the ideas it stimulated and the ways they are used in current efforts to explain cellular radiosensitivity; an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of two experimental models used in vitro for simulating the induction of double strand breaks (DSB) and single strand breaks (SSB) in situ. Note that when alkali is used to denature cellular DNA for the determination of strand breaks, both overt SSB and the SSB that result from DSB in the denaturation process are recorded as total strand breaks (TSB). All information is taken from published literature.

NASA Discipline Number 93-10↗

NASA NTRS1989

Site of graviperception in roots: a re-examination

Two lines of evidence have been cited to support the assertion that the root cap is the sole site of graviperception in the root. The first evidence is based on surgical removal of the cap, which abolishes the response to gravity. This is sufficient to conclude that the cap is involved in gravitropism, but not to conclude that the cap is the site of graviperception. The second is based on the results of centrifugation experiments, in which different parts of the plant are subjected to different centrifugal forces. The data from such experiments have been cited to support the conclusion that the perception of gravity is limited to the rootcap. However, these data actually support the conclusion that gravity is perceived throughout the root tip, and not only in the root cap. We believe that the data support the conclusion that the root cap is involved in root gravitropism, but that there is inadequate evidence to conclude that the cap is the sole site of graviperception.

Review↗

NASA NTRS1988

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition and the kidney

Angiotensin II (Ang II) induces a marked reduction in renal blood flow at doses well below those required to induce a pressor response, and as blood flow falls there is a decline in glomerular filtration rate and sodium excretion. This striking sensitivity of the renal blood supply led many workers to consider the possibility that angiotensin functions as a local renal hormone. As angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) was found in particular abundance in the lung, it seemed reasonable to suspect that most of the conversion occurred there, and that the function of Ang II would be primarily systemic, rather than intrarenal. In this review, I will explore the evidence that has accumulated on these two possibilities, since they have important implications for our current understanding of normal kidney function and derangements of kidney function in disease.

NASA Program Biomedical Research↗

NASA NTRS1987

Spacelab Life Sciences flight experiments: an integrated approach to the study of cardiovascular deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension

The microgravity environment of spaceflight produces rapid cardiovascular changes which are adaptive and appropriate in that setting, but are associated with significant deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension on return to Earth's gravity. The rapidity with which these space flight induced changes appear and disappear provides an ideal model for studying the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of deconditioning and orthostatic hypotension, regardless of etiology. Since significant deconditioning is seen after flights of very short duration, muscle atrophy due to inactivity plays, at most, a small role. These changes in circulatory control associated with cephalad fluid shifts, rather than inactivity per se, are probably more important factors. In order to test this hypothesis in a systematic way, a multidisciplinary approach which defines and integrates inputs and responses from a wide variety of circulatory sub-systems is required. The cardiovascular experiments selected for Spacelab Life Sciences flights 1 and 2 provide such an approach. Both human and animal models will be utilized. Pre- and post-flight characterization of the payload crew includes determination of maximal exercise capacity (bicycle ergometry), orthostatic tolerance (lower body negative pressure), alpha and beta adrenergic sensitivity (isoproterenol and phenylephrine infusions), baroreflex sensitivity (ECG-gated, stepwise changes in carotid artery transmural pressure with a pneumatic neck collar), and responses to a 24 h period of 5 deg head-down tilt. Measurements of cardiac output (CO2 and C2H2 rebreathing), cardiac chamber dimensions (phased-array 2-dimensional echocardiography), direct central venous pressure, leg volume (Thornton sock), limb blood flow and venous compliance (occlusion plethysmography), blood and plasma volumes, renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rates, and various hormonal levels including catecholamines and atrial natriuretic factor will also be obtained. The central venous catheter will be inserted immediately pre-launch and monitored with heart rate and blood pressure in-flight until cardiac output, respiratory gas exchange and quantitative 2D echocardiography measurements can be performed. In-flight hemodynamic measurements will be repeated at rest and during submaximal exercise daily and also during maximal exercise midway through the flight to document the timecourse and extent of cardiovascular changes in the payload crew. Parallel studies are planned for the animals. In addition to measurements of right atrial and aortic pressures and cardiac output, a dorsal micro-circulatory chamber will allow determinations of changes in capillary and venular architecture and function in six of the rats. The techniques and findings from many of the SLS-1 and 2 supporting studies have already yielded significant information about circulatory regulation in patients with both hypo- and hypertension. The flight experiments themselves will provide new data to test the validity of both animal and human models currently used for simulating the fluid shifts of a micro-gravity environment. The development of effective countermeasures, not only for short and long duration space travellers, but also for Earth-bound medical patients can then be physiologically based on experimental data rather than anecdote.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1994

The effects of gravity on the circadian timing system

The physiological system responsible for the temporal coordination of an organism is the circadian timing system (CTS). This system provides two forms of temporal coordination. First, the CTS provides for synchronization of the organism with the 24 hour period of the external environment. This synchronization of the organism with the environment is termed entrainment. Second, this system also provides for internal coordination of the various physiological, behavioral, and biochemical events within the organism. When either of these two temporal relationships are disturbed, various dysfunctions can be manifest within the organism. Homeostatic capacity of other physiological systems may be reduced. Performance is decreased and sleep disorders, mental health impairment (e.g., depression), jet lag syndrome, and shift work maladaptation frequently occur. Over the last several years, several studies have evaluated the potential influence of gravity on this physiological control system by examining changes in rhythmic characteristics of organisms exposed to altered gravitational environments. The altered gravitational environments have included the microgravity of spaceflight as well as hyperdynamic fields produced via centrifugation.

Review↗

NASA NTRS1986

Role of calcium ions in phytochrome responses: an update

Recent findings related to the role of calcium ions in phytochrome responses are reviewed and summarized. Hypotheses tested are the activation of calmodulin by light-regulated Ca2+ transport in cells and the photoinduction of calmodulin-activated enzyme activities. Discussion focuses on evidence that Ca2+ helps to regulate phytochrome responses, calcium requirements for photoinduced spore germination in the fern Onoclea, Ca2+ fluxes and phytochrome function in the alga Mougeotia, calmodulin antagonist blocking of red-light stimulated chloroplast rotation, the role of phosphorylation in calmodulin-regulated responses, and phytochrome regulation of nuclear protein phosphorylation.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗

NASA NTRS1995

Impact of weightlessness on muscle function

The most studied skeletal muscles which depend on gravity, "antigravity" muscles, are located in the posterior portion of the legs. Antigravity muscles are characterized generally by a different fiber type composition than those which are considered nonpostural. The gravity-dependent function of the antigravity muscles makes them particularly sensitive to weightlessness (unweighting) resulting in a substantial loss of muscle protein, with a relatively greater loss of myofibrillar (structural) proteins. Accordingly alpha-actin mRNA decreases in muscle of rats exposed to microgravity. In the legs, the soleus seems particularly responsive to the lack of weight-bearing associated with space flight. The loss of muscle protein leads to a decreased cross-sectional area of muscle fibers, particularly of the slow-twitch, oxidative (SO) ones compared to fast-twitch glycolytic (FG) or oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) fibers. In some muscles, a shift in fiber composition from SO to FOG has been reported in the adaptation to spaceflight. Changes in muscle composition with spaceflight have been associated with decreased maximal isometric tension (Po) and increased maximal shortening velocity. In terms of fuel metabolism, results varied depending on the pathway considered. Glucose uptake, in the presence of insulin, and activities of glycolytic enzymes are increased by space flight. In contrast, oxidation of fatty acids may be diminished. Oxidation of pyruvate, activity of the citric acid cycle, and ketone metabolism in muscle seem to be unaffected by microgravity.

NASA Discipline Number 00-00↗

NASA NTRS1995

Models and molecular approaches to assessing the effects of the microgravity environment on vertebrate development

The extent to which gravity, and especially the lack thereof, can affect normal development in higher organisms is poorly understood. Underlying this question is the assumption that normal development depends on the embryo's ability to maintain a programmed temporal and spatial coordination of morphogenetic events. There are several reports documenting the apparently normal development of several vertebrate species, including mammals, under conditions of exposure to space flight during various periods of the development process. Evidence to the contrary also exists and it is therefore likely that some alterations in morphology do occur in a microgravity environment. Although subsequent development may appear overtly normal, more subtle abnormalities result. In all studies, the evaluation is restricted by the few numbers of specimens that can be examined and the relatively insensitive techniques for assessing potentially subtle effects. In the present discussion, we summarize some observations of mammalian development made in microgravity and consider which stages might be expected to be differentially sensitive to altered gravity conditions. While we emphasize mammalian development, we discuss the suitability of another model system for examining such effects in a cross-species context. Furthermore, we consider recent developments in our understanding of the molecular genetic program regulating embryogenesis that could serve as markers for assessing perturbations of development.

Cosmos 1129 Project↗

NASA NTRS1995

Radiogenic cell transformation and carcinogenesis

Radiation carcinogenesis is one of the major biological effects considered important in the risk assessment for space travel. Various biological model systems, including both cultured cells and animals, have been found useful for studying the carcinogenic effects of space radiations, which consist of energetic electrons, protons and heavy ions. The development of techniques for studying neoplastic cell transformation in culture has made it possible to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis. Cultured cell systems are thus complementary to animal models. Many investigators have determined the oncogenic effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiation in cultured mammalian cells. One of the cell systems used most often for radiation transformation studies is mouse embryonic cells (C3H10T1/2), which are easy to culture and give good quantitative dose-response curves. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for heavy ions with various energies and linear energy transfer (LET) have been obtained with this cell system. Similar RBE and LET relationship was observed by investigators for other cell systems. In addition to RBE measurements, fundamental questions on repair of sub- and potential oncogenic lesions, direct and indirect effect, primary target and lesion, the importance of cell-cell interaction and the role of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in radiogenic carcinogenesis have been studied, and interesting results have been found. Recently several human epithelial cell systems have been developed, and ionizing radiation have been shown to transform these cells. Oncogenic transformation of these cells, however, requires a long expression time and/or multiple radiation exposures. Limited experimental data indicate high-LET heavy ions can be more effective than low-LET radiation in inducing cell transformation. Cytogenetic and molecular analyses can be performed with cloned transformants to provide insights into basic genetic mechanism(s) of radiogenic transformation of human epithelial cells.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

NASA NTRS1990

Toward applied behavior analysis of life aloft

This article deals with systems at multiple levels, at least from cell to organization. It also deals with learning, decision making, and other behavior at multiple levels. Technological development of a human behavioral ecosystem appropriate to space environments requires an analytic and synthetic orientation, explicitly experimental in nature, dictated by scientific and pragmatic considerations, and closely approximating procedures of established effectiveness in other areas of natural science. The conceptual basis of such an approach has its roots in environmentalism which has two main features: (1) knowledge comes from experience rather than from innate ideas, divine revelation, or other obscure sources; and (2) action is governed by consequences rather than by instinct, reason, will, beliefs, attitudes or even the currently fashionable cognitions. Without an experimentally derived data base founded upon such a functional analysis of human behavior, the overgenerality of "ecological systems" approaches render them incapable of ensuring the successful establishment of enduring space habitats. Without an experimentally derived function account of individual behavioral variability, a natural science of behavior cannot exist. And without a natural science of behavior, the social sciences will necessarily remain in their current status as disciplines of less than optimal precision or utility. Such a functional analysis of human performance should provide an operational account of behavior change in a manner similar to the way in which Darwin's approach to natural selection accounted for the evolution of phylogenetic lines (i.e., in descriptive, nonteleological terms). Similarly, as Darwin's account has subsequently been shown to be consonant with information obtained at the cellular level, so too should behavior principles ultimately prove to be in accord with an account of ontogenetic adaptation at a biochemical level. It would thus seem obvious that the most productive conceptual and methodological approaches to long-term research investments focused upon human behavior in space environments will require multidisciplinary inputs from such wide-ranging fields as molecular biology, environmental physiology, behavioral biology, architecture, sociology, and political science, among others.

Review↗

NASA NTRS1993

How should human baroreflexes be tested?

A new approach to the study of arterial baroreflexes was developed for use during the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Spacelab Life Sciences-1 Space Shuttle mission. This method holds promise as a means to characterize the vagal limb of human baroreflex responses comprehensively and efficiently.

Review↗

NASA NTRS1990

Impacts and the origin of life

As living creatures, all of us have some interest in the question of how life originated. To some, the question is more religious than scientific; nonetheless, a small but dedicated group of scientists spend their careers trying to answer it from a rational standpoint. Logically, the question can be broken down into the three standard divisions of any mystery: When did life originate? Where did it originate? And how did it originate? Of these three sub-questions the last is by far the most difficult and I will make no attempt to address it here. I will however take a personal look at the two easier parts of the problem. In particular, I will outline my current view of the physical environment of the early Earth, and I will try to show how observations of other solar system bodies, especially our own Moon, provide clues as to when and where life could have originated.

Review↗

NASA NTRS1992

Gravitational studies in cellular and developmental biology

The paucity of data on the role of gravity in cellular and developmental biology has been examined, and a hypothesis has been generated that unifies potential gravity sensitivity in both plant and animal systems. This hypothesis considers the macromolecular order and functional importance of the extracellular matrix compartment, the intracellular cytoskeleton compartment, and the connecting plasma membrane-signal transduction compartment of plant and animal systems as potentially sensitive to alterations in the unit gravity environment in which they evolved.

NASA Discipline Developmental Biology↗

NASA NTRS1993

Water uptake by growing cells: an assessment of the controlling roles of wall relaxation, solute uptake, and hydraulic conductance

Growing plant cells increase in volume principally by water uptake into the vacuole. There are only three general mechanisms by which a cell can modulate the process of water uptake: (a) by relaxing wall stress to reduce cell turgor pressure (thereby reducing cell water potential), (b) by modifying the solute content of the cell or its surroundings (likewise affecting water potential), and (c) by changing the hydraulic conductance of the water uptake pathway (this works only for cells remote from water potential equilibrium). Recent studies supporting each of these potential mechanisms are reviewed and critically assessed. The importance of solute uptake and hydraulic conductance is advocated by some recent studies, but the evidence is indirect and conclusions remain controversial. For most growing plant cells with substantial turgor pressure, it appears that reduction in cell turgor pressure, as a consequence of wall relaxation, serves as the major initiator and control point for plant cell enlargement. Two views of wall relaxation as a viscoelastic or a chemorheological process are compared and distinguished.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1993

Computer simulation of initial events in the biochemical mechanisms of DNA damage

Understanding the systematic and quantitative correlation between the physical events of energy deposition by ionizing radiation and the ensuing chemical and biochemical processes leading to DNA damage is one of the goals in radiation research. Significant progress has been made toward achieving the stated goal by using theoretical modeling techniques. These techniques are strongly dependent on computer simulation procedures. A review of such techniques with details of various stages of simulation development, including a comparison with available experimental data, is presented in this article.

Non-NASA Center↗