Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Biomedical Research”

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.

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

At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

NASA's Rodent Research Project: Validation of Flight Hardware, Operations and Science Capabilities for Conducting Long Duration Experiments in Space

Research using rodents is an essential tool for advancing biomedical research on Earth and in space. Rodent Research (RR)-1 was conducted to validate flight hardware, operations, and science capabilities that were developed at the NASA Ames Research Center. Twenty C57BL/6J adult female mice were launched on Sept 21, 2014 in a Dragon Capsule (SpaceX-4), then transferred to the ISS for a total time of 21-22 days (10 commercial mice) or 37 (10 validation mice). Tissues collected on-orbit were either rapidly frozen or preserved in RNA later at less than or equal to -80 C (n=2/group) until their return to Earth. Remaining carcasses were rapidly frozen for dissection post-flight. The three controls groups at Kennedy Space Center consisted of: Basal mice euthanized at the time of launch, Vivarium controls, housed in standard cages, and Ground Controls (GC), housed in flight hardware within an environmental chamber. FLT mice appeared more physically active on-orbit than GC, and behavior analysis are in progress. Upon return to Earth, there were no differences in body weights between FLT and GC at the end of the 37 days in space. RNA was of high quality (RIN greater than 8.5). Liver enzyme activity levels of FLT mice and all control mice were similar in magnitude to those of the samples that were optimally processed in the laboratory. Liver samples collected from the intact frozen FLT carcasses had RNA RIN of 7.27 +/- 0.52, which was lower than that of the samples processed on-orbit, but similar to those obtained from the control group intact carcasses. Nonetheless, the RNA samples from the intact carcasses were acceptable for the most demanding transcriptomic analyses. Adrenal glands, thymus and spleen (organs associated with stress response) showed no significant difference in weights between FLT and GC. Enzymatic activity was also not significantly different. Over 3,000 tissues collected from the four groups of mice have become available for the Biospecimen Sharing Program. Together, these validation flight findings demonstrate the capability to support long-duration RR on the ISS to achieve both basic science and biomedical objectives.

rodents↗
DOE OSTI2021

Artificial intelligence in cancer research, diagnosis and therapy

Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are breaking into biomedical research and health care, which importantly includes cancer research and oncology, where the potential applications are vast. These include detection and diagnosis of cancer, subtype classification, optimization of cancer treatment and identification of new therapeutic targets in drug discovery. While big data used to train machine learning models may already exist, leveraging this opportunity to realize the full promise of artificial intelligence in both the cancer research space and the clinical space will first require significant obstacles to be surmounted. In this Viewpoint article, we asked four experts for their opinions on how we can begin to implement artificial intelligence while ensuring standards are maintained so as transform cancer diagnosis and the prognosis and treatment of patients with cancer and to drive biological discovery.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1991

Space medicine research publications: 1987-1988

A list of publications of investigators supported by the Biomedical Research and Clinical Programs of the Life Sciences Division, Office of Space Science and Applications is given. Included are publications entered into the Life Sciences Bibliographic Database by the George Washington University as of 31 December 1988. Principal Investigators whose research tasks resulted in publication are identified by asterisk. Publications are organized into the following subject areas: space physiology and countermeasures (cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, neuroscience, and regulatory physiology), space human factors, environmental health, radiation health, clinical medicine, and general space medicine.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1985

Bone Analyzer

The danger of disuse osteoporosis under weightless condition in space led to extensive research into measurements of bone stiffness and mass by the Biomedical Research Division of Ames and Stanford University. Through its Technology Utilization Program, NASA funded an advanced SOBSA, a microprocessor-controlled bone probe system. SOBSA determines bone stiffness by measuring responses to an electromagnetic shaker. With this information, a physician can identify bone disease, measure deterioration and prescribe necessary therapy. The system is now undergoing further testing.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

GeneLab: Multi-Omics Investigation of Rodent Research-1 Bio-Banked Tissues

NASAs Rodent Research (RR) project is playing a critical role in advancing biomedical research on the physiological effects of space environments. Due to the limited resources for conducting biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS), it is imperative to use crew time efficiently while maximizing high-quality science return. NASAs GeneLab project has as its primary objectives to 1) further increase the value of these experiments using a multi-omics, systems biology-based approach, and 2) disseminate these data without restrictions to the scientific community. The current investigation assessed viability of RNA, DNA, and protein extracted from archived RR-1 tissue samples for epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic assays. During the first RR spaceflight experiment, a variety of tissue types were harvested from subjects, snap-frozen or RNAlater-preserved, and then stored at least a year at -80OC after return to Earth. They were then prioritized for this investigation based on likelihood of significant scientific value for spaceflight research. All tissues were made available to GeneLab through the bio-specimen sharing program managed by the Ames Life Science Data Archive and included mouse adrenal glands, quadriceps, gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus, soleus, eye, and kidney. We report here protocols for and results of these tissue extractions, and thus, the feasibility and value of these kinds of omics analyses. In addition to providing additional opportunities for investigation of spaceflight effects on the mouse transcriptome and proteome in new kinds of tissues, our results may also be of value to program managers for the prioritization of ISS crew time for rodent research activities. Support from the NASA Space Life and Physical Sciences Division and the International Space Station Program is gratefully acknowledged.

GeneLab↗
NASA NTRS1988

Space medicine research publications: 1984-1986

A list is given of the publications of investigators supported by the Biomedical Research and Clinical Medicine Programs of the Space Medicine and Biology Branch, Life Sciences Division, Office of Space Science and Applications. It includes publications entered into the Life Sciences Bibliographic Database by the George Washington University as of December 31, 1986. Publications are organized into the following subject areas: Clinical Medicine, Space Human Factors, Musculoskeletal, Radiation and Environmental Health, Regulatory Physiology, Neuroscience, and Cardiopulmonary.

Wallace, Janice S.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Lumped Parameter Models of the Central Nervous System for VIIP Research

INTRODUCTION: Current long-duration missions to the International Space Station and future exploration-class missions beyond low-Earth orbit, such as to Mars and asteroids, expose astronauts to increased risk of Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) syndrome [1]. It has been hypothesized that the headward shift of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and blood in microgravity may cause significant elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP), which in turn induces VIIP syndrome through biomechanical pathways [1, 2]. However, there is insufficient evidence to confirm this hypothesis. In this light, we are developing lumped-parameter models of fluid transport in the central nervous system (CNS) as a means to simulate the influence of microgravity on ICP. The CNS models will also be used in concert with the lumped parameter and finite element models of the eye described in the realted IWS abstracts submitted by Nelson et al., Feola et al. and Ethier et al. METHODS: We have developed a nine compartment CNS model (Figure 1) capable of both time-dependent and steady state fluid transport simulations, based on the works of Stevens et al. [3]. The breakdown of compartments within the model includes: vascular (3), CSF (2), brain (1) and extracranial (3). The boundary pressure in the Central Arteries [A] node is prescribed using an oscillating pressure function PA(t) simulating the carotid pulsatile pressure wave as developed by Linninger et al. [4]. For each time step, pressures are integrated through time using an adaptive-timestep 4th and 5th order Runga-Kutta solver. Once pressures are found, constitutive equations are used to solve for flowrates (Q) between each compartment. In addition to fluid flow between the different compartments, compliance (C) interactions between neighboring compartments are represented. We are also developing a second CNS model based on the works of Linninger et al. [4] which takes a more granular approach to represent the interactions of the intracranial and spinal compartments with the inclusion of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, veins, venous sinus, and ventricles. The flow through the arteries, veins and CSF compartments are governed by continuity, momentum and distensibility balance equations. Furthermore, unlike the Stevens et al. approach, the Monro-Kellie doctrine of constant cranial volume and the bi-phasic nature of the brain parenchyma are implemented. These features appear to be more consistent with the physiologic and anatomical behavior of the CNS, and follow a modeling philosophy similar to the lumped parameter eye model that is intended to be integrated with the CNS model. However, Linninger’s approach has never been implemented to include hydrostatic gradient and microgravity simulation capabilities. Therefore, we aim at implement this modeling approach for spaceflight simulations and assess its overall applicability to VIIP research. OBJECTIVES: We will present verification and validation test results for both models, as well as head-to-head comparison to explore their strengths and limitations with respect to mathematical implementation and physiological significance for VIIP research. In doing so, we hope to provide some guidance to the HRP research community on how to appropriately leverage lumped parameter models for space biomedical research.

Vera, J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Knowledge Beacons: Web services for data harvesting of distributed biomedical knowledge

The continually expanding distributed global compendium of biomedical knowledge is diffuse, heterogeneous and huge, posing a serious challenge for biomedical researchers in knowledge harvesting: accessing, compiling, integrating and interpreting data, information and knowledge. In order to accelerate research towards effective medical treatments and optimizing health, it is critical that efficient and automated tools for identifying key research concepts and their experimentally discovered interrelationships are developed. As an activity within the feasibility phase of a project called “Translator” (https://ncats.nih.gov/translator) funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to develop a biomedical science knowledge management platform, we designed a Representational State Transfer (REST) web services Application Programming Interface (API) specification, which we call a Knowledge Beacon. Knowledge Beacons provide a standardized basic API for the discovery of concepts, their relationships and associated supporting evidence from distributed online repositories of biomedical knowledge. This specification also enforces the annotation of knowledge concepts and statements to the NCATS endorsed the Biolink Model data model and semantic encoding standards (https://biolink.github.io/biolink-model/). Implementation of this API on top of diverse knowledge sources potentially enables their uniform integration behind client software which will facilitate research access and integration of biomedical knowledge.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement With Georgetown University Report: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Clinical and Translational Science Award

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is participating with Georgetown University (GU) as a subrecipient in response to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) (U54 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity announcement. This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement is put in to place to facilitate the development and implementation of clinical interventions that demonstrably improve human health is currently a complex, recursive, and inefficient process that leads to delays of years or decades before discoveries in biomedical research result in health benefits for patients and communities. NCATS conducts and supports research in the science of translation, to discover the mechanistic and operational principles of the intervention development and dissemination process, thereby providing the scientific foundation for improvements in translational efficiency that will accelerate the realization of interventions that improve human health. Under NCATS’ leadership, the CTSA Program supports a national network of medical research institutions called hubs. GU is the lead institution in one of the NIH hubs that was created as a result of a previous NIH CTSA. The missions of the GU have historically included the advancement of health through research in the clinical and biomedical sciences, the education of future leaders in medical and nursing practice and academia, and the provision of compassionate and scientifically competent patient care and service to the Washington, DC community and the nation. GU is the lead institution for the Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science (GHUCCTS), a multi-institutional partnership of medical research institutions forged from a desire to promote clinical research and translational science. Through multiple collaborations among these institutions, GHUCCTS is transforming clinical research and translational science in order to bring new scientific advances to health care. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the Department of Energy's (DOE) largest science and energy laboratory. Managed since April 2000 by a partnership of the University of Tennessee and Battelle, ORNL was established in 1943 as a part of the secret Manhattan Project to pioneer a method for producing and separating plutonium. During the 1950s and 1960s, ORNL became an international center for the study of nuclear energy and related research in the physical and life sciences. With the creation of DOE in the 1970s, ORNL's mission broadened to include a variety of energy technologies and strategies. Today the laboratory supports the nation with a peacetime science and technology mission that is just as important as, but very different from, its role during the Manhattan Project. ORNL is home to the world's premier center for high performance supercomputing to enable scientific discovery. ORNL has extensive expertise in various areas of computer science that are uniquely situated to support GU. Additionally, ORNL’s leading computational user facilities present a unique opportunity to leverage the largest scale machines for open science in support of the stated mission of the NCATS CTSA. ORNL's partnership with GU will offer unparalleled opportunity in data analytics, deep-learning, artificial intelligence, and urban dynamics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Conceptual design of a biological specimen holding facility

An all-important first step in the development of the Spacelab Life Science Laboratory is the design of the Biological Specimen Holding Facility (BSHF) which will provide accommodation for living specimens for life science research in orbit. As a useful tool in the understanding of physiological and biomedical changes produced in the weightless environment, the BSHF will enable biomedical researchers to conduct in-orbit investigations utilizing techniques that may be impossible to perform on human subjects. The results of a comprehensive study for defining the BSHF, description of its experiment support capabilities, and the planning required for its development are presented. Conceptual designs of the facility, its subsystems and interfaces with the Orbiter and Spacelab are included. Environmental control, life support and data management systems are provided. Interface and support equipment required for specimen transfer, surgical research, and food, water and waste storage is defined. New and optimized concepts are presented for waste collection, feces and urine separation and sampling, environmental control, feeding and watering, lighting, data management and other support subsystems.

Jackson, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Proceedings of a conference on Cardiovascular Bioinstrumentation

The Ames Research Center (ARC) has a long history in the development of cardiovascular (CV) instrumentation for human and animal research. The ARC Cardiovascular Research Lab under the Space Physiology Branch, Space Research Directorate, supports both ground-based and space-based animal and human research goals. The Cardiovascular Research Laboratory was established at ARC in the mid 1960's to conduct ground-based animal research and support development of advanced cardiovascular instrumentation applicable to spaceflight. The ARC Biomedical Research Program also conducts human studies with a CV instrumentation focus.

Ballard, Rodney W.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Coordination of International Risk-Reduction Investigations by the Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration

Effective use of the unique capabilities of the International Space Station (ISS) for risk reduction on future deep space missions involves preliminary work in analog environments to identify and evaluate the most promising techniques, interventions and treatments. This entails a consolidated multinational approach to biomedical research both on ISS and in ground analogs. The Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration (MHRPE) was chartered by the five ISS partners to recommend the best combination of partner investigations on ISS for risk reduction in the relatively short time available for ISS utilization. MHRPE will also make recommendations to funding agencies for appropriate preparatory analog work. In 2011, NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Science, acting for MHRPE, developed a joint US-Russian biomedical program for the 2015 one-year ISS mission (1YM) of American and Russian crewmembers. This was to evaluate the possibilities for multilateral research on ISS. An overlapping list of 16 HRP, 9 IBMP, 3 Japanese, 3 European and 1 Canadian investigations were selected to address risk-reduction goals in 7 categories: Functional Performance, Behavioral Health, Visual Impairment, Metabolism, Physical Capacity, Microbial and Human Factors. MHRPE intends to build on this bilateral foundation to recommend more fully-integrated multilateral investigations on future ISS missions commencing after the 1YM. MHRPE has also endorsed an on-going program of coordinated research on 6-month, one-year and 6-week missions ISS expeditions that is now under consideration by ISS managers. Preparatory work for these missions will require coordinated and collaborative campaigns especially in the psychological and psychosocial areas using analog isolation facilities in Houston, Köln and Moscow, and possibly elsewhere. The multilateral Human Analogs research working group (HANA) is the focal point of those planning discussions, with MHRPE coordinating between the national programs and then supporting implementation on ISS. Experience gained during preparations for the 1YM has identified improvements in both American and Russian processes to enable well-integrated investigations on all subsequent ISS expeditions. Among those is that the greatest efficiency is to be gained with investigations that are fully integrated from their conception, with co-principal investigators, a consolidated proposal and integrated plans for crewmember time and other flight-related resources. Analog investigations preceding future ISS expeditions will employ these lessons in efficiency to evaluate the techniques and tools to be validated aboard ISS. In this way, the resources and capabilities of ISS can be applied most efficiently to solving the problems facing astronauts of all nations in missions deep into the solar system.

Charles, John B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Technological Innovations from NASA

The challenge of human space exploration places demands on technology that push concepts and development to the leading edge. In biotechnology and biomedical equipment development, NASA science has been the seed for numerous innovations, many of which are in the commercial arena. The biotechnology effort has led to rational drug design, analytical equipment, and cell culture and tissue engineering strategies. Biomedical research and development has resulted in medical devices that enable diagnosis and treatment advances. NASA Biomedical developments are exemplified in the new laser light scattering analysis for cataracts, the axial flow left ventricular-assist device, non contact electrocardiography, and the guidance system for LASIK surgery. Many more developments are in progress. NASA will continue to advance technologies, incorporating new approaches from basic and applied research, nanotechnology, computational modeling, and database analyses.

Pellis, Neal R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Programmatic Comments

The life science programs of NASA are informally discussed. Research areas can be generally categorized as space biology, aerospace medicine, origins of life, biomedical research, and life support systems. The role of the life sciences in the development of the space station and the experimental opportunities afforded by such a facility are addressed.

Soffen, G.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Behavioral Health and Performance at NASA JSC: Recent Successes and Future Plan for BHP Research and Operations

The Behavioral Health and Performance discipline at NASA Johnson Space Center is organized into two distinct Divisions (Biomedical Research and Environmental Science Division and Space and Clinical Operations Division) but is integrated and interrelated in its day‐to‐day work. Ongoing operations supporting NASA's spaceflight goals benefit from the research portfolios that address risks to mission success. Similarly, these research portfolios are informed by operations to ensure investigations stay relevant given the dynamic environment of spaceflight. There are many success stories that can be presented where initial work begun as a BHP Research project, and funded through the Human Research Program, was fully implemented in operations or addressed an operational need. Examples include improving effectiveness of the debriefings used within Mission Control by the Mission Operations Directorate and countermeasures for fatigue management. There is also ongoing collaboration with research and operations for developing selection methods for future generation astronauts, and to enhance and inform the current family support function. The objective of this panel is to provide examples of recent success stories, describe areas where close collaboration is benefitting ongoing research and operations, and summarize how this will come together as NASA plans for the one year ISS mission - a unique opportunity for both BHP operations and research to learn more about preparing and supporting crewmembers for extended missions in space. The proposed panel will be comprised of six presentations, each describing a unique aspect of research or operations and the benefits to current and future spaceflight.

Leveton, L. B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Spacelab Life Sciences Research Panel

This document describes some of the life sciences research that was conducted on Spacelab missions. Dr. Larry Young, Director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, provides an overview of the Life Sciences Spacelabs.

Sulzman, Frank↗
NASA NTRS1989

The role of the Space Station in the further exploration of space

Plans for space-science experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) are reviewed, with a focus on biological and medical research with implications for manned missions to the moon and planets (in a scenario culminating in the establishment of a space colony by about the year 2018). Both applied biomedical research (determining the limits of human endurance in space and developing CELSS technology to extend them) and basic research (on the physiological response of plants and animals to the space environment) are discussed, and particular attention is given to the design and deployment schedule for the ISS biomedical hardware modules (Life Sciences Module, Centrifuge Module, and Variable-Gravity Research Facility). Also included are diagrams; drawings; photographs; and tables listing the individual experiments, their objectives, and the hardware required.

Bonting, S. L.↗