SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “metabolic engineering”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2018

Advancing Torpor Inducing Transfer Habitats for Human Stasis to Mars: II - Phase

SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) has conducted an evaluation of an advanced habitat system designed to transportcrews between the Earth and Mars. This new and innovative habitat concept is capable of placing crew members ininactive, torpor states during transit phases of a deep space mission. This substantially reduces the mass and size ofthe habitat, which ultimately leads to significant reductions in the overall architecture size.Our approach for achieving this is based on extending the current and evolving medical practice of TherapeuticHypothermia (TH) - a proven and effective treatment for various traumatic injuries. TH is a medical treatment thatlowers a patient's body temperature by just 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit causing human metabolic rate to decreasesignificantly and the body to enter an unconscious state. This method avoids the intractable challenges often associatedwith cell metabolic cessation through cryogenic freezing and other highly speculative approaches.The initial results obtained from the research and analysis conducted in the Phase I effort warranted further study ofthis concept and technology. The specific objectives of the continued work include:1. Addressing critical medical aspects and risks for inducing torpor via Therapeutic Hypothermia and theapproach for providing nutrition and hydration for the crew during torpor. 2. Focusing on mitigation aspects and technology potential for solving key human spaceflight challenges. 3. Addressing critical engineering aspects of the design that may impact the initial performance and cost resultsobtained in Phase I. 4. Examining the broader extensibility and enabling capabilities of this concept through applicability toadditional exploration missions beyond Mars. 5. Establishing a technology development roadmap, addressing both medical and engineering aspects, thatindicate a logical and scientifically achievable path forward for maturation of this technology.

Stasis↗

NASA NTRS2018

In-space Biomanufacturing Using CO2 with Methylobacterium Extorquens

Long duration missions to deep space will require new approaches for supplying astronauts. In-space microbial manufacturing could generate many important compounds (such as nutrients, pharmaceuticals and fuels) but there are significant barriers to deploying reliable bioproduction platforms to space. These include ensuring adequate production and proper purification of the desired product, especially in the unique radiation and microgravity environment. Here we are focused on developing methods and technologies to feed microbial factories using the resources available in space. CO2, found in abundance in spacecraft cabins and the Mars atmosphere, can be sequestered and converted into bioproducts. While autotrophic organisms can use CO2 directly, they are generally slow growing and have less-developed biotechnology toolkits. Therefore we are developing an alternative paradigm in which CO2 is first reduced to more energetic carbon compounds that can support more rapid growth of workhorse biotechnology platforms (E. coli, S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris).Various technologies exist or are being developed to convert CO2. For example, the Sabatier system currently installed on the ISS, reacts CO2 and H2 to generate CH4 and H2O. This methane could be consumed by engineered methanotrophic bacteria. Alternatively, electrochemical systems can convert CO2 into formate (CHO2) which could be consumed by formatotrophic bacteria. In either case, synthetic biology techniques allow these microbes to serve as reprogrammable biofactories capable of producing a vast number or products.

Synthetic biology; Formate metabolism↗

NASA NTRS2026

Development of the METMAN Thermal Desktop Human Model for System Integration

Human thermal analysis and model development inform NASA’s space suit development, vehicle/habitat design, and survivability studies. Historically, human thermal models such as the 41-node metabolic man (METMAN) and the Wissler model have been standalone software tools developed with FORTRAN, a programming language known for its high performance in computationally intensive applications. Though efficient, these standalone programs pose challenges to coupled human-system analysis with detailed life support and thermal control subsystem models in other commercial software. This paper describes the conversion of the METMAN human thermal model from a standalone FORTRAN program to a model in Thermal Desktop (Ansys), a commonly used CAD-based simulation software for engineering that specializes in heat transfer, thermal radiation, and fluid flow analysis. This format was chosen to best facilitate model sharing and compatibility, enabling the direct integration of METMAN human thermal analysis with subsystem models across NASA programs and commercial partners.

Elizabeth Thurston↗

NASA NTRS1990

Earth benefits from space life sciences

Contributions of space exploration which are widely recognized are those dealing with the impact of space technology on public health and medical services in both urban and remote rural areas. Telecommunications, image enhancement, 3-dimensional image reconstructions, miniaturization, automation, and data analysis, have transformed the delivery of medical care and have brought about a new impetus to the field of biomedicine. Many areas of medical care and biological research have been affected. These include technological breakthroughs in such areas as: (1) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, (2) new approaches to the understanding of osteoporosis, (3) early detection of genetic birth defects, (4) emergency medical care, and (5) treatment of chronic metabolic disorders. These are but a few examples where technology originally developed to support space medicine or space research has been applied to solving medical and health care delivery problems on Earth.

NASA Center HQS↗

NASA NTRS2020

Development and Evaluation of the Active Response Gravity Offload System as a Lunar and Martian EVA Simulation Environment

In preparation for future exploration missions, NASA seeks the ability to simulate partial-gravity operations for use in ground-based research, crew training, and engineering design evaluations. The Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) is designed to simulate reduced gravity environments, such as lunar, Martian, or microgravity, using a robotic system similar to an overhead bridge crane. ARGOS continuously offloads a portion of a suited human’s weight during all dynamic motions within the test facility, which can include basic functional movements such as walking, running, and jumping, as well as a wide range of planetary surface activities. This system will be used as part of a metabolic-rate task characterization study to determine the workload associated with partial-gravity extravehicular activity (EVA). Pilot testing was conducted using the MKIII prototype planetary space suit and two gimbal designs to determine the ability of the ARGOS test environment to simulate planetary EVA operations. This paper will describe the lessons learned from the feasibility testing, simulation-environment mockup design, and the results from the pilot tests and their influence into the final study design. Being able to effectively simulate partial-gravity environments and characterize the performance of crewmembers will have an impact on multiple domains including suit design, task design, thermal models, and life-support-system capacity verification plans, among others.

Omar S Bekdash↗

NASA NTRS1992

Space life support engineering program

A comprehensive study to develop software to simulate the dynamic operation of water reclamation systems in long-term closed-loop life support systems is being carried out as part of an overall program for the design of systems for a moon station or a Mars voyage. This project is being done in parallel with a similar effort in the Department of Chemistry to develop durable accurate low-cost sensors for monitoring of trace chemical and biological species in recycled water supplies. Aspen-Plus software is being used on a group of high-performance work stations to develop the steady state descriptions for a number of existing technologies. Following completion, a dynamic simulation package will be developed for determining the response of such systems to changes in the metabolic needs of the crew and to upsets in system hardware performance.

Seagrave, Richard C.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The NASA Open Science Data Repository: Biomedical Fair Data, Analysis Tools, User Communities, Publications, and Discoveries for Deep Space Missions

Increased biomedical risks and challenges associated with deep space missions require new knowledge discovery, new health countermeasures, and development of novel ecosystems, life support, crop production, and biomedical support capabilities. To meet NASA’s Moon to Mars strategic program goals for Human and Biological Sciences, findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR), and maximally open-access data is going to be required to enable humanity to thrive in deep space. Indeed, this cornerstone perspective on FAIR and maximally open access data was also recommended in the recent 2023-2032 Decadal Survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) is a maximally open access and FAIR database, and meets various scientific, technical, and operational spaceflight needs. It offers public users and submitters the ability to upload, download, search, share, analyze, and visualize data across ‘omics, physiological, phenotypic, behavioral, bioimaging, video, and environmental monitoring telemetry datasets. OSDR includes NASA GeneLab, NASA Ames Life Sciences Data Archive, and the NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection. OSDR has >455 studies with datasets from model organisms and non-NASA human astronauts. There are ~12 datasets from the Inspiration 4 (I4) mission, spanning metagenomics, comprehensive metabolic panels, clonal hematopoiesis, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytokine panels. In the interest of data privacy, two I4 datasets have raw FASTQ and FASTA files relating to the epitranscriptome, and a new request feature is live in OSDR (with a backend review process established) which was developed based on industry norms. OSDR also recently began a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) to scientifically curate and make available >200 terabytes of human and model organism space-relevant data. The OSDR submission portal is designed to ingest and curate ~25 ‘omics assay data types, and ~50 physiological-phenotypic-imaging assay data types, spanning ultrasonography, micro-computed tomography, histology, morphometric photography, rebound tonometry, gait analysis, optical coherence tomography, novel object recognition, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry. A suite of analysis tools are available for OSDR users including: 1) an Environmental Data Application to compare radiation, CO2, relative humidity, temperature, and other telemetry across missions and subjects, 2) the RadLab database, a collaboration between NASA, ESA, the German and Italian Space Agencies, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which compiles radiation measurements relevant to human spaceflight and provides tools for accessing and manipulating the data, and 3) a Multi-study visualization tool which enables users to look across and combine GeneLab’s omics datasets across different experiments and missions. There are ~600 volunteer OSDR Analysis Working Group (AWG) members who: 1) provide feedback on scientific standards for reuse (subject and assay metadata; processing pipelines; dataset formats and uniformed structures for machine-readability), and 2) collaborate to mine-reuse OSDR data conducting scientific analysis. OSDR has enabled 60 publications as of September 2023, many directly from AWG collaborations most notably the Cell Press package in 2020. Lastly, there are at least 15 articles which mine OSDR data part of a package of ~50 articles across Nature Portfolio with research stemming from I4, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA Space Biology, and the NASA Human Research Program.

space biology↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Open Science Data Repository: Biomedical FAIR Data, Analysis Tools, User Communities, and Discoveries for Deep Space Missions

open access↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The NASA Open Science Data Repository: Biomedical Data, Analysis Tools, and Informatic Collaborations

Increased biomedical risks and challenges associated with deep space missions require knowledge discovery, health countermeasures, and biomedical support capabilities. Maximally open-access and reusable data is needed by developers, scientists, and engineers to develop these systems. The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) is a maximally open access and FAIR database (ie., findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), and meets various scientific, technical, and operational needs. It offers users and submitters the ability to upload, download, search, share, analyze, cite, and visualize data across ‘omics, physiological, phenotypic, payload, hardware, behavioral, bioimaging, video, and environmental monitoring telemetry datasets. OSDR is an expanded database, based upon the successes of NASA GeneLab. OSDR has >460 studies with datasets covering model organisms to non-NASA human astronauts. There are ~12 datasets from the Inspiration 4 (I4) mission, spanning metagenomics, comprehensive metabolic panels, clonal hematopoiesis, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytokine panels. In the interest of data privacy, two I4 datasets with raw files relating to the epitranscriptome, and a new request feature is live in OSDR (with a backend review process established) developed from industry norms. OSDR is collecting and curating biomedical human data from a new sub-orbital research flight and is open to more space life science/biomedical submissions from the international and commercial sectors. OSDR also recently began a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) to collect and curate >200 terabytes of human and model organism data. The OSDR submission portal is designed to ingest and curate ~25 ‘omics and ~50 physiological-phenotypic-imaging assay data types. Tools available for OSDR users include: 1) an Environmental Data Application to compare radiation, CO2, relative humidity, temperature, and other telemetry across missions and subjects, 2) the RadLab database, a collaboration between NASA, ESA, the German and Italian Space Agencies, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and 3) a Multi-study visualization tool which enables users to look across and combine ‘omics datasets. There are ~600 volunteer OSDR Analysis Working Group (AWG) members providing feedback on scientific data/metadata standards and collaborating to mine-reuse OSDR in research. OSDR/GeneLab has enabled ~60 publications reusing data as of October 2023.

space biology↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Precision Fermentation: Relieving the Crabtree Effect in S. cerevisiae through Genetic Engineering

Nutrient degradation in the current NASA pre-packaged food system poses significant challenges to crew health in missions beyond low earth orbit as certain vitamins and nutrients have been shown to degrade during extended storage, and resupply and fresh food items cannot be readily provided. BioNutrients(BN) uses synthetic biology in an effort to supplement the NASA food system by delivering in situ production of nutrients and therapeutics produced by genetically engineered microbes. One yeast S. cerevisiae strain utilized in BN is genetically modified to produce two types of antioxidants: zeaxanthin and β-carotene. Zeaxanthin is a non-provitamin A carotenoid and has been implicated in eye health and vision performance, and β-carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid. Microbial production of high-value nutrients can aid our understanding and address the issue of nutrient degradation and loss in the NASA food system. Although S. cerevisiae is an excellent candidate for a long shelf life, on-demand nutrient production system, its space applications are limited by the Crabtree effect where respiration is shut down in favor of fermentative metabolism when glucose is present in high concentrations, causing the release of unwanted ethanol. Current and likely future life support systems are negatively impacted by ethanol and ethanol release is strictly limited.To improve feasibility of using S. cerevisiae, we explored ways to reduce the Crabtree effect, thereby limiting its ethanol production. Specifically, we used CRISPR-cas9 to genetically modify various genes in this pathway

E Zaroff↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space life support engineering program

This report covers the first six months of work performed under the NASA University Grant awarded to Iowa State University to perform research on two topics relating to the development of closed-loop long-term life support systems. A comprehensive study to develop software to simulate the dynamic operation of water reclamation systems in long-term closed-loop life support systems is being carried out as part of an overall program for the design of systems for a Mars voyage. This project is being done in parallel with a similar effort in the Department of Chemistry to develop durable accurate low-cost sensors for monitoring of trace chemical and biological species in recycled water supplies. Aspen-Plus software is being used on a group of high-performance workstations to develop the steady state descriptions for a number of existing technologies. Following completion, a dynamic simulation package will be developed for determining the response of such systems to changes in the metabolic needs of the crew and to upsets in system hardware performance.

Seagrave, Richard C.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Methane Metabolism by Yeast for Solar System Exploration

Exploration of the solar system is constrained by the cost of moving mass off Earth. Producing materials in situ will reduce the mass that must be delivered from earth. CO2 is abundant on Mars and manned spacecraft. On the ISS, NASA reacts excess CO2 with H2 to generate CH4 and H2O using the Sabatier System. The resulting water is recovered into the ISS, but the methane is vented to space. Thus, there is a capability need for systems that convert methane into valuable materials. Methanotrophic bacteria consume methane but these are poor synthetic biology platforms. Thus, there is a knowledge gap in utilizing methane in a robust and flexible synthetic biology platform. The yeast Pichia pastoris is a refined microbial factory that is used widely by industry because it efficiently secretes products. Pichia could produce a variety of useful products in space. Pichia does not consume methane but robustly consumes methanol, which is one enzymatic step removed from methane. Our goal is to engineer Pichia to consume methane thereby creating a powerful methane-consuming microbial factory.

Galazka, Jonathan M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Controlled ecological life-support system - Use of plants for human life-support in space

Scientists and engineers within NASA are conducting research which will lead to development of advanced life-support systems that utilize higher plants in a unique approach to solving long-term life-support problems in space. This biological solution to life-support, Controlled Ecological Life-Support System (CELSS), is a complex, extensively controlled, bioengineered system that relies on plants to provide the principal elements from gas exchange and food production to potable water reclamation. Research at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is proceeding with a comprehensive investigation of the individual parts of the CELSS system at a one-person scale in an approach called the Breadboard Project. Concurrently a relatively new NASA sponsored research effort is investigating plant growth and metabolism in microgravity, innovative hydroponic nutrient delivery systems, and use of highly efficient light emitting diodes for artificial plant illumination.

Chamberland, D.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Spaceflight Autonomous Multigenerational Microbial Sequencer in Support of Plant-Growth Systems

The CubeSat platform has proven successful in obtaining meaningful life science information when biological payloads are incorporated. Examples include: 1) the first-ever CubeSat with a biological payload, GeneSat-1, which demonstrated decreased growth rates for flight samples of Escherichia coli in low Earth orbit (Parra et al. 2008); 2) PharmaSat, demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the microgravity environment exhibits a significant level of metabolic activity even at high doses of applied antifungal (Ricco et al. 2011); 3) O/OREOS, which used Bacillus subtilis(bacteria) to demonstrate for the first time that microorganisms can be loaded in a dried, dormant form and then rehydrated and grown in orbit months after launch (Nicholson et al. 2011; Ehrenfreund et al. 2014; 4) the SporeSat payload, which investigated Ceratopteris richardii(fern spores) using lab-on-a-chip devices (BioCDs) and minicentrifuges to produce artificial gravitational forces in ground studies (Park et al. 2017), with demonstration of the BioCD and minicentrifuge in space; 5) EcAMSat, the first CubeSat to be directly deployed from the ISS for an experiment assessing antibiotic resistance of E. coli in the microgravity environment (Padgen et al. 2020); 6) BioSentinel, exposed a culture of yeast to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and solar particle events while in heliocentric orbit to measure the rate of double-strand-break repair using DNA-repair-deficient mutants. This effort measures the metabolic parameters of yeast in a deep-space environment compared to Earth ambient conditions using a 3-color LED detection system (Ricco et al. 2020; Padgen et al. 2021). We aim to expand this list to include a Spaceflight Autonomous Multigenerational Microbial Sequencer (SAMMS). SAMMS will allow for the genome level understanding of changes in growth and metabolic activity for any organism. While microbes are suitable for early studies in our proposed platform because of their small size, small and relatively less-complicated genomes, fast generation times, and relevance to life support systems; multicellular organisms can similarly be evaluated for their genetic response to the spaceflight environment. The Spaceflight Autonomous Multigenerational Microbial Sequencer (SAMMS) will enable autonomous sequencing of biological samples in plant production units, cislunar orbit and on the lunar surface to examine spaceflight effects (ie. radiation, altered gravity, reduced pressures) on plant and microbial genomes.On this team a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) space crop production and water systems microbiologist/molecular biologist works with a Johnson Space Center (JSC) International Space Station (ISS) microbial sequencing expert and an Ames Research Center (ARC) CubeSat Engineering team to convert an automated Oxford Nanopore librarypreparation and sequencing method to a fluidic CubeSat payload system. The Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing platform has proven successful in the spaceflight environment onboard the ISS (Stahl-Rommel et al. 2021). Further long-duration spaceflight and exposure to high levels of radiation will cause genotypic effects in biological organisms that may affect their function. Monitoring the adaption of a population to the spaceflight environment and any subsequent beneficial mutations will allow for the harnessing of organisms best suited for use in life support systems. This will ensure that the selected life support-essential microorganisms maintain their intended specified function over generations of culturing in the relevant spaceflight environment without becoming hazardous to crew or spacecraft systems.

Aubrie E Orourke↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Human Thermal Assessment of Traverse and Geology Task Iterations During Simulated Lunar Extravehicular Activity

Spacewalks or extravehicular activities (EVA) in microgravity are mentally and physically demanding. Current microgravity EVAs are predominantly focused on upper body tasks on engineered surfaces; however, the introduction of gravity means that crew members during future lunar EVAs will be required to perform tasks that generate full body workloads such as navigating natural lunar terrain while conducting geological sampling. To date, only 12 people have walked on the surface of the Moon resulting in limited knowledge of suited thermal regulation under lunar-relevant physical workloads. To address this gap, a study is underway to focus on spacesuit operations with simulated lunar EVA workloads. This study presents methodology for collecting standard thermal measures during suit testing. In this pilot study, two suited subjects underwent simulated lunar EVAs using the NASA Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) to simulate the effects of partial gravity. Each lunar EVA, lasting three to five hours, included various metabolically demanding EVA tasks. Subjects donned the NASA Mark III (MK III) space suit and were offloaded to 1/6th G (lunar gravity). A subset task circuit from one of these simulations replicated an EVA traverse to a lunar crater, taking a geological sample, and returning to base. The suited subject walked one 1500 m (0% grade) and three 500 m traverses at three different grades (10, 20, 30%). Between each traverse, subjects performed geology sampling tasks (0 and 10% grade). Thermal measurements included core and skin temperature, liquid cooling garment (LCG) inlet and outlet temperature, and spacesuit gas inlet and outlet temperature and humidity. Compared to baseline core temperature (S1 = 37.07±0.32 °C, S2 = 37.27±0.01 °C) and mean skin temperature (S1 = 32.38±0.34 °C, S2 = 33.62±0.03 °C), after a 1500 m traverse, each suited subject showed an increased core temperature (S1 = 37.23±0.12 °C, S2 = 37.41±0.11°C) and decreased mean skin temperature (S1 = 32.16±0.17 °C, S2 = 31.53±1.15 °C) at a delta LCG temperature (S1 = 1.86±0.24 °C, S2 = 2.20±0.76 °C) and delta suit humidity (S1 = 9.66±1.49 %, S2 = 11.50±1.58 %). Core temperature continued to increase from compounding traverse and geology tasks (S1 = 38.04±0.03 °C, S2 = 38.1±0.02 °C) accompanied by an increase in delta LCG temperature (S1 = 2.24±0.13 °C, S2 = 2.67±0.12 °C) and delta suit humidity (S1 = 28±2.42 %, S2 = 31±2.13 %). Conversely, as the circuit progressed, mean skin temperature continued to decrease due to sustained LCG heat rejection (S1 = 30.08±0.15 °C, S2 = 30.28±0.07 °C). During the simulated EVA circuit core temperature increased to elevated values and remained elevated as heat was retained while mean skin temperature decreased due to peripheral heat offloaded to the LCG. The thermal measures collected during this study provided critical heat loading dynamics during lunar EVA tasks. Including core and skin temperatures along with suited thermal measures provides a standard data collection scheme for human thermal metrics during EVA task management. Data collected in this configuration can be used to build future lunar EVA task circuits and human thermal predictions.

Bradley Hoffmann↗

NASA NTRS1985

Development of a carbon formation reactor for carbon dioxide reduction

Applied research, engineering development, and performance evaluation were conducted on a process for formation of dense carbon by pyrolysis of methane. Experimental research showed that dense (0.7 to 1.6 g/cc bulk density and 1.6 to 2.2 g/cc solid density) carbon can be produced by methane pyrolysis in quartzwool-packed quartz tubes at temperatrues of 1100 to 1300 C. This result supports the condensation theory of pyrolytic carbon formation from gaseous hydrocarbons. A full-scale Breadboard Carbon Formation Reactor (CFR) was designed, fabricated, and tested at 1100 to 1200 C with 380 to 2280 sccm input flows of methane. Single-pass conversion of methane to carbon ranged from 60 to 100 percent, with 89 percent average conversion. Performance was projected for an Advanced Carbon Reactor Subsystem (ACRS) which indicated that the ACRS is a viable option for management of metabolic carbon on long-duration space missions.

Noyes, G.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Engineering 6-Phosphogluconate Improves Grain Yield in Heat-Stressed Maize

Endosperm starch synthesis is a primary determinant of grain yield and is sensitive to high-temperature stress. The maize chloroplast-localized 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH), PGD3, is critical for endosperm starch accumulation. Maize also has two cytosolic isozymes, PGD1 and PGD2, that are not required for kernel development. We found that cytosolic PGD1 and PGD2 isozymes have heat-stable activity, while amyloplast-localized PGD3 activity is labile under heat stress conditions. We targeted heat-stable 6PGDH to endosperm amyloplasts by fusing the Waxy1 chloroplast targeting the peptide coding sequence to the Pgd1 and Pgd2 open reading frames (ORFs). These WPGD1 and WPGD2 fusion proteins import into isolated chloroplasts, demonstrating a functional targeting sequence. Transgenic maize plants expressing WPGD1 and WPGD2 with an endosperm-specific promoter increased 6PGDH activity with enhanced heat stability in vitro. WPGD1 and WPGD2 transgenes complement the pgd3-defective kernel phenotype, indicating the fusion proteins are targeted to the amyloplast. In the field, the WPGD1 and WPGD2 transgenes can mitigate grain yield losses in high-nighttime-temperature conditions by increasing kernel number. These results provide insight into the subcellular distribution of metabolic activities in the endosperm and suggest the amyloplast pentose phosphate pathway is a heat-sensitive step in maize kernel metabolism that contributes to yield loss during heat stress.

Synthetic Biology↗

NASA NTRS2018

Overview of the Exploration Exercise Device Validation Study Plans

The NASA has determined that a multi-functional exercise device will be developed for use as an exercise device during exploration missions. The device will allow for full body resistance and metabolic exercise necessary to minimize physiological losses during space flight and to maintain fitness necessary to perform critical mission tasks. Prior to implementation as an exercise device on an Exploration vehicle, there will be verification and validation testing completed to determine device efficacy at providing the necessary training stimuli to achieve desired goals. Because the exploration device will be new device that has yet be specified, specific Verification and Validation (V&V) protocols have yet to be developed. Upon delivery of an exploration exercise device training unit, stakeholders throughout NASA will develop V&V plans that include ground-based testing and testing on the International Space Station (ISS). Stakeholders will develop test protocols that include success criterion for the device. Ground tests will occur at NASA Johnson Space Station prior to flight testing. The intents of the ground tests are to allow crew, spaceflight medicine, science, engineering, Astronaut Strength, Conditioning, and Reconditioning staff, and others to gain experience in the best utilization of the device. The goal is to obtain an evidence base for recommending use of the device on the ISS. The developed protocol will be created to achieve multiple objectives, including determining if the device provides an adequate training stimulus for 5th - 95th percentile males and females, allows for exercise modalities that protect functional capability, and is robust and can withstand extensive human use. Although protocols are yet to be determined, current expectations include use of the device by test subjects and current crew in order to obtain quantitative and qualitative feedback. Information obtained during the ground tests may be used to influence device modifications during design iterations. Assuming successful ground tests, the device will be installed on the ISS for testing during space flight. Spaceflight testing is envisioned to include an activation and checkout (ACO) phase and a V&V phase. During the ACO phase, 1-2 crewmembers will exercise with the device to ensure proper function. ACO is expected to last multiple months because of the many modes and methods of exercise that need to be assessed. However, the goal is to complete the ACO as quickly as possible. Once successful ACO occurs, the crew will be free to use the device for normal exercise pending concurrence from stakeholders. V&V tests on the ISS will ideally consist of crew using the device for all of their exercise for an entire mission. Exercise prescriptions will be supplied that replicate expected prescriptions during exploration missions. Crew that are not enrolled in the V&V studies would be also free to use the device as their schedule permits. As experience is gained by users, exercise protocols could change. The intent of all V&V testing is to ensure that all have thorough understanding of experience at optimizing device capability

DeWitt, J. K.↗