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NASA NTRS2000

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP#2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes- subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2000

The Biological Relevance of Artificial Life: Lessons from Artificial Intelligence

There is no fundamental reason why A-life couldn't simply be a branch of computer science that deals with algorithms that are inspired by, or emulate biological phenomena. However, if these are the limits we place on this field, we miss the opportunity to help advance Theoretical Biology and to contribute to a deeper understanding of the nature of life. The history of Artificial Intelligence provides a good example, in that early interest in the nature of cognition quickly was lost to the process of building tools, such as "expert systems" that, were certainly useful, but provided little insight in the nature of cognition. Based on this lesson, I will discuss criteria for increasing the biological relevance of A-life and the probability that this field may provide a theoretical foundation for Biology.

Colombano, Silvano↗

NASA NTRS2003

Holarchical Systems and Emotional Holons : Biologically-Inspired System Designs for Control of Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

The BEES (Bio-inspired Engineering for Exploration Systems) for Mars project at NASA Ames Research Center has the goal of developing bio-inspired flight control strategies to enable aerial explorers for Mars scientific investigations. This paper presents a summary of our ongoing research into biologically inspired system designs for control of unmanned autonomous aerial vehicle communities for Mars exploration. First, we present cooperative design considerations for robotic explorers based on the holarchical nature of biological systems and communities. Second, an outline of an architecture for cognitive decision making and control of individual robotic explorers is presented, modeled after the emotional nervous system of cognitive biological systems. Keywords: Holarchy, Biologically Inspired, Emotional UAV Flight Control

Ippolito, Corey↗

NASA NTRS2004

Preservation of Liquid Biological Samples

The present invention related to the preservation of a liquid biological sample. The biological sample is exposed to a preservative containing at least about 0.15 g of sodium benzoate and at least about 0.025 g of citric acid per 100 ml of sample. The biological sample may be collected in a vessel or an absorbent mass. The biological sample may also be exposed to a substrate and/or a vehicle.

Putcha, Lakshmi↗

NASA NTRS2000

Invited review: gravitational biology of the neuromotor systems: a perspective to the next era

Earth's gravity has had a significant impact on the designs of the neuromotor systems that have evolved. Early indications are that gravity also plays a key role in the ontogenesis of some of these design features. The purpose of the present review is not to assess and interpret a body of knowledge in the usual sense of a review but to look ahead, given some of the general concepts that have evolved and observations made to date, which can guide our future approach to gravitational biology. We are now approaching an era in gravitational biology during which well-controlled experiments can be conducted for sustained periods in a microgravity environment. Thus it is now possible to study in greater detail the role of gravity in phylogenesis and ontogenesis. Experiments can range from those conducted on the simplest levels of organization of the components that comprise the neuromotor system to those conducted on the whole organism. Generally, the impact of Earth's gravitational environment on living systems becomes more complex as the level of integration of the biological phenomenon of interest increases. Studies of the effects of gravitational vectors on neuromotor systems have and should continue to provide unique insight into these mechanisms that control and maintain neural control systems designed to function in Earth's gravitational environment. A number of examples are given of how a gravitational biology perspective can lead to a clearer understanding of neuromotor disorders. Furthermore, the technologies developed for spaceflight studies have contributed and should continue to contribute to studies of motor dysfunctions, such as spinal cord injury and stroke. Disorders associated with energy support and delivery systems and how these functions are altered by sedentary life styles at 1 G and by space travel in a microgravity environment are also discussed.

Review, Tutorial↗

NASA NTRS2009

NASA Biological Specimen Repository

The NASA Biological Specimen Repository (NBSR) has been established to collect, process, annotate, store, and distribute specimens under the authority of the NASA/JSC Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects. The International Space Station (ISS) provides a platform to investigate the effects of microgravity on human physiology prior to lunar and exploration class missions. The NBSR is a secure controlled storage facility that is used to maintain biological specimens over extended periods of time, under well-controlled conditions, for future use in approved human spaceflight-related research protocols. The repository supports the Human Research Program, which is charged with identifying and investigating physiological changes that occur during human spaceflight, and developing and implementing effective countermeasures when necessary. The storage of crewmember samples from many different ISS flights in a single repository will be a valuable resource with which researchers can validate clinical hypotheses, study space-flight related changes, and investigate physiological markers All samples collected require written informed consent from each long duration crewmember. The NBSR collects blood and urine samples from all participating long duration ISS crewmembers. These biological samples are collected pre-flight at approximately 45 days prior to launch, during flight on flight days 15, 30, 60 120 and within 2 weeks of landing. Postflight sessions are conducted 3 and 30 days following landing. The number of inflight sessions is dependent on the duration of the mission. Operations began in 2007 and as of October 2009, 23 USOS crewmembers have completed or agreed to participate in this project. As currently planned, these human biological samples will be collected from crewmembers covering multiple ISS missions until the end of U.S. presence on the ISS or 2017. The NBSR will establish guidelines for sample distribution that are consistent with ethical principles, protection of crewmember confidentiality, prevailing laws and regulations, intellectual property policies, and consent form language. A NBSR Advisory Board composed of representatives of all participating agencies will be established to evaluate each request by an investigator for use of the samples to ensure the request reflects the mission of the NBSR.

Pietrzyk, Robert↗

NASA NTRS2010

Multifunctional and biologically active matrices from multicomponent polymeric solutions

The present invention relates to a biologically active functionalized electrospun matrix to permit immobilization and long-term delivery of biologically active agents. In particular the invention relates to a functionalized polymer matrix comprising a matrix polymer, a compatibilizing polymer and a biomolecule or other small functioning molecule. In certain aspects the electrospun polymer fibers comprise at least one biologically active molecule functionalized with low molecular weight heparin. Examples of active molecules that may be used with the multicomponent polymer of the invention include, for example, a drug, a biopolymer, for example a growth factor, a protein, a peptide, a nucleotide, a polysaccharide, a biological macromolecule or the like. The invention is further directed to the formation of functionalized crosslinked matrices, such as hydrogels, that include at least one functionalized compatibilizing polymer capable of assembly.

Kiick, Kristi L.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Biological Based Risk Assessment for Space Exploration

Exposures from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) - made up of high-energy protons and high-energy and charge (HZE) nuclei, and solar particle events (SPEs) - comprised largely of low- to medium-energy protons are the primary health concern for astronauts for long-term space missions. Experimental studies have shown that HZE nuclei produce both qualitative and quantitative differences in biological effects compared to terrestrial radiation, making risk assessments for cancer and degenerative risks, such as central nervous system effects and heart disease, highly uncertain. The goal for space radiation protection at NASA is to be able to reduce the uncertainties in risk assessments for Mars exploration to be small enough to ensure acceptable levels of risks are not exceeded and to adequately assess the efficacy of mitigation measures such as shielding or biological countermeasures. We review the recent BEIR VII and UNSCEAR-2006 models of cancer risks and their uncertainties. These models are shown to have an inherent 2-fold uncertainty as defined by ratio of the 95% percent confidence level to the mean projection, even before radiation quality is considered. In order to overcome the uncertainties in these models, new approaches to risk assessment are warranted. We consider new computational biology approaches to modeling cancer risks. A basic program of research that includes stochastic descriptions of the physics and chemistry of radiation tracks and biochemistry of metabolic pathways, to emerging biological understanding of cellular and tissue modifications leading to cancer is described.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Life at the Common Denominator: Mechanistic and Quantitative Biology for the Earth and Space Sciences

The remarkable challenges and possibilities of the coming few decades will compel the biogeochemical and astrobiological sciences to characterize the interactions between biology and its environment in a fundamental, mechanistic, and quantitative fashion. The clear need for integrative and scalable biology-environment models is exemplified in the Earth sciences by the challenge of effectively addressing anthropogenic global change, and in the space sciences by the challenge of mounting a well-constrained yet sufficiently adaptive and inclusive search for life beyond Earth. Our understanding of the life-planet interaction is still, however, largely empirical. A variety of approaches seek to move from empirical to mechanistic descriptions. One approach focuses on the relationship between biology and energy, which is at once universal (all life requires energy), unique (life manages energy flow in a fashion not seen in abiotic systems), and amenable to characterization and quantification in thermodynamic terms. Simultaneously, a focus on energy flow addresses a critical point of interface between life and its geological, chemical, and physical environment. Characterizing and quantifying this relationship for life on Earth will support the development of integrative and predictive models for biology-environment dynamics. Understanding this relationship at its most fundamental level holds potential for developing concepts of habitability and biosignatures that can optimize astrobiological exploration strategies and are extensible to all life.

Hoehler, Tori M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

A Hypothesis on Biological Protection from Space Radiation Through the Use of Therapeutic Gases

This slide presentation proposes a hypothesis to use therapeutic gases in space to enhance the biological protection for astronauts from space radiation. The fundamental role in how radiation causes biological damage appears to be radiolysis, the dissociation of water by radiation. A chain of events appears to cause molecular and biological transformations that ultimately manifest into medical diseases. The hypothesis of this work is that applying medical gases may increase resistance to radiation, by possessing the chemical properties that effectively improve the radical scavenging and enhance bond repair and to induce biological processes which enhance and support natural resistance and repair mechanisms.

Schoenfeld, Michael↗

NASA NTRS2004

Multisensor Instrument for Real-Time Biological Monitoring

The figure schematically depicts an instrumentation system, called a fiber optic-based integration system (FOBIS), that is undergoing development to enable real-time monitoring of fluid cell cultures, bioprocess flows, and the like. The FOBIS design combines a micro flow cytometer (MFC), a microphotometer (MP), and a fluorescence-spectrum- or binding-force-measuring micro-sensor (MS) in a single instrument that is capable of measuring multiple biological parameters simultaneously or sequentially. The fiber-optic-based integration system is so named because the MFC, the MP, and the MS are integrated into a single optical system that is coupled to light sources and photometric equipment via optical fibers. The optical coupling components also include a wavelength-division multiplexer and diffractive optical elements. The FOBIS includes a laserdiode- and fiber-optic-based optical trapping subsystem (optical tweezers ) with microphotometric and micro-sensing capabilities for noninvasive confinement and optical measurement of relevant parameters of a single cell or other particle. Some of the measurement techniques implemented together by the FOBIS have long been used separately to obtain basic understanding of the optical properties of individual cells and other organisms, the optical properties of populations of organisms, and the interrelationships among these properties, physiology of the organisms, and physical processes that govern the media that surround the organisms. For example, flow cytometry yields information on numerical concentrations, cross-sectional areas, and types of cells or other particles. Micro-sensing can be used to measure pH and concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, glucose, metabolites, calcium, and antigens in a cell-culture fluid, thereby providing feedback that can be helpful in improving control over a bioprocess. Microphotometry (including measurements of scattering and fluorescence) can yield further information about optically trapped individual particles. In addition to the multifunctionality not previously available in a single biological monitoring system, the FOBIS offers advantages of low mass, sensitivity, accuracy, portability, low cost, compactness (the overall dimensions of the fully developed FOBIS sensor head are expected to be less than 1 by 1 by 2 cm), and immunity to electromagnetic interference at suboptical frequencies. FOBIS could be useful in a variety of laboratory and field settings in such diverse endeavors as medical, veterinary, and general biological research; medical and veterinary diagnosis monitoring of industrial bioprocesses; and analysis of biological contaminants in air, water, and food.

Zhang, Sean (Zhanxiang)↗

NASA NTRS2012

Processes that Drove the Transition from Chemistry to Biology: Concepts and Evidence

Two properties are particularly germane to the transition from chemistry to biology. One is the emergence of complex molecules (polymers) capable of performing non-trivial functions, such as catalysis, energy transduction or transport across cell walls. The other is the ability of several functions to work in concert to provide reproductive advantage to systems hosting these functions. Biological systems exhibit these properties at remarkable levels of efficiency and accuracy in a way that appears effortless. However, dissection of these properties reveals great complexities that are involved. This opens a question: how a simple, ancestral system could have acquired the required properties? Other questions follow. What are the chances that a functional polymer emerges at random? What is the minimum structural complexity of a polymer to carry out a function at a reasonable level of efficiency? Can we identify concrete, protobiologically plausible mechanisms that yield advantageous coupling between different functions? These and similar questions are at the core of the main topic of this session: how soulless chemistry became life? Clearly, we do not have complete answers to any of these questions. However, in recent years a number of new and sometimes unexpected clues have been brought to light. Of particular interest are proteins because they are the main functional polymers in contemporary cells. The emergence of protein functions is a puzzle. It is widely accepted that a well ]defined, compact structure (fold) is a prerequisite for function. It is equally widely accepted that compact folds are rare among random amino acid polymers. Then, how did protein functionality start? According to one hypothesis well folded were preceded by their poorly folded, yet still functional ancestors. Only recently, however, experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis has been presented. In particular, a small enzyme capable of ligating two RNA fragments with the rate of 106 above background was evolved in vitro. This enzyme does not look like any contemporary protein. It is very flexible and its structure is kept together just by a single salt bridge between a charged residue and a coordinating zinc. A similar picture emerges from studies of simple transmembrane channels that mimic those in ancestral cells. Again, they are extremely flexible and do not form a conventional pore. Yet, they efficiently mediate ion transport. Studies on simple proteins that are on-going in several laboratories hold promise of revealing crucial links between chemical and biological catalysis and other ubiquitous cell functions. Interaction between composition, growth and division of protobiologically relevant vesicles and metabolic reactions that they encapsulate is an example of coupling between simple functions that promotes reproduction and evolution. Recent studies have demonstrated possible mechanisms by which vesicles might have evolved their composition from fatty acids to phospholipids, thus facilitating a number of new cellular functions. Conversely, it has been also demonstrated that an encapsulated metabolism might drive vesicle division. These are, again, examples of processes that might have driven the transition from chemistry to biology.

Pohorille, Andrew↗

NASA NTRS2011

Automated Miniaturized Instrument for Space Biology Applications and the Monitoring of the Astronauts Health Onboard the ISS

Human space travelers experience a unique environment that affects homeostasis and physiologic adaptation. The spacecraft environment subjects the traveler to noise, chemical and microbiological contaminants, increased radiation, and variable gravity forces. As humans prepare for long-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and beyond, effective measures must be developed, verified and implemented to ensure mission success. Limited biomedical quantitative capabilities are currently available onboard the ISS. Therefore, the development of versatile instruments to perform space biological analysis and to monitor astronauts' health is needed. We are developing a fully automated, miniaturized system for measuring gene expression on small spacecraft in order to better understand the influence of the space environment on biological systems. This low-cost, low-power, multi-purpose instrument represents a major scientific and technological advancement by providing data on cellular metabolism and regulation. The current system will support growth of microorganisms, extract and purify the RNA, hybridize it to the array, read the expression levels of a large number of genes by microarray analysis, and transmit the measurements to Earth. The system will help discover how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and how pathogenic bacteria sometimes increase their virulence in space, facilitating the development of adequate countermeasures to decrease risks associated with human spaceflight. The current stand-alone technology could be used as an integrated platform onboard the ISS to perform similar genetic analyses on any biological systems from the tree of life. Additionally, with some modification the system could be implemented to perform real-time in-situ microbial monitoring of the ISS environment (air, surface and water samples) and the astronaut's microbiome using 16SrRNA microarray technology. Furthermore, the current system can be enhanced substantially by combining it with other technologies for automated, miniaturized, high-throughput biological measurements, such as fast sequencing, protein identification (proteomics) and metabolite profiling (metabolomics). Thus, the system can be integrated with other biomedical instruments in order to support and enhance telemedicine capability onboard ISS. NASA's mission includes sustained investment in critical research leading to effective countermeasures to minimize the risks associated with human spaceflight, and the use of appropriate technology to sustain space exploration at reasonable cost. Our integrated microarray technology is expected to fulfill these two critical requirements and to enable the scientific community to better understand and monitor the effects of the space environment on microorganisms and on the astronaut, in the process leveraging current capabilities and overcoming present limitations.

Human space travelers↗

NASA NTRS2015

A Biologically-Based Alternative Water Processor for Long Duration Space Missions

A wastewater recovery system has been developed that combines novel biological and physicochemical components for recycling wastewater on long duration space missions. Functionally, this Alternative Water Processor (AWP) would replace the Urine Processing Assembly on the International Space Station and reduce or eliminate the need for the multifiltration beds of the Water Processing Assembly (WPA). At its center are two unique game changing technologies: 1) a biological water processor (BWP) to mineralize organic forms of carbon and nitrogen and 2) an advanced membrane processor (Forward Osmosis Secondary Treatment) for removal of solids and inorganic ions. The AWP is designed for recycling larger quantities of wastewater from multiple sources expected during future exploration missions, including urine, hygiene (hand wash, shower, oral and shave) and laundry. The BWP utilizes a single-stage membrane-aerated biological reactor for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The Forward Osmosis Secondary Treatment (FOST) system uses a combination of forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO), is resistant to biofouling and can easily tolerate wastewaters high in non-volatile organics and solids associated with shower and/or hand washing. The BWP was operated continuously for over 300 days. After startup, the mature biological system averaged 85% organic carbon removal and 44% nitrogen removal, close to maximum based on available carbon. The FOST has averaged 93% water recovery, with a maximum of 98%. If the wastewater is slighty acidified, ammonia rejection is optimal. This paper will provide a description of the technology and summarize results from ground-based testing using real wastewater.

Barta, Daniel J.↗

NASA NTRS2015

GeneLab: A Systems Biology Platform for Spaceflight Omics Data

NASA's mission includes expanding our understanding of biological systems to improve life on Earth and to enable long-duration human exploration of space. Resources to support large numbers of spaceflight investigations are limited. NASA's GeneLab project is maximizing the science output from these experiments by: (1) developing a unique public bioinformatics database that includes space bioscience relevant "omics" data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) and experimental metadata; (2) partnering with NASA-funded flight experiments through bio-sample sharing or sample augmentation to expedite omics data input to the GeneLab database; and (3) developing community-driven reference flight experiments. The first database, GeneLab Data System Version 1.0, went online in April 2015. V1.0 contains numerous flight datasets and has search and download capabilities. Version 2.0 will be released in 2016 and will link to analytic tools. In 2015 Genelab partnered with two Biological Research in Canisters experiments (BBRIC-19 and BRIC-20) which examine responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to spaceflight. GeneLab also partnered with Rodent Research-1 (RR1), the maiden flight to test the newly developed rodent habitat. GeneLab developed protocols for maxiumum yield of RNA, DNA and protein from precious RR-1 tissues harvested and preserved during the SpaceX-4 mission, as well as from tissues from mice that were frozen intact during spaceflight and later dissected. GeneLab is establishing partnerships with at least three planned flights for 2016. Organism-specific nationwide Science Definition Teams (SDTs) will define future GeneLab dedicated missions and ensure the broader scientific impact of the GeneLab missions. GeneLab ensures prompt release and open access to all high-throughput omics data from spaceflight and ground-based simulations of microgravity and radiation. Overall, GeneLab will facilitate the generation and query of parallel multi-omics data, and deep curation of metadata for integrative analysis, allowing researchers to uncover cellular networks as observed in systems biology platforms. Consequently, the scientific community will have access to a more complete picture of functional and regulatory networks responsive to the spaceflight environment.. Analysis of GeneLab data will contribute fundamental knowledge of how the space environment affects biological systems, and enable emerging terrestrial benefits resulting from mitigation strategies to prevent effects observed during exposure to space. As a result, open access to the data will foster new hypothesis-driven research for future spaceflight studies spanning basic science to translational science.

proteomics↗

NASA NTRS2015

Space Synthetic Biology Project

Synthetic biology is an effort to make genetic engineering more useful by standardizing sections of genetic code. By standardizing genetic components, biological engineering will become much more similar to traditional fields of engineering, in which well-defined components and subsystems are readily available in markets. Specifications of the behavior of those components and subsystems can be used to model a system which incorporates them. Then, the behavior of the novel system can be simulated and optimized. Finally, the components and subsystems can be purchased and assembled to create the optimized system, which most often will exhibit behavior similar to that indicated by the model. The Space Synthetic Biology project began in 2012 as a multi-Center effort. The purpose of this project was to harness Synthetic Biology principals to enable NASA's missions. A central target for application was to Environmental Control & Life Support (ECLS). Engineers from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) ECLS Systems Development Branch (ES62) were brought into the project to contribute expertise in operational ECLS systems. Project lead scientists chose to pursue the development of bioelectrochemical technologies to spacecraft life support. Therefore, the ECLS element of the project became essentially an effort to develop a bioelectrochemical ECLS subsystem. Bioelectrochemical systems exploit the ability of many microorganisms to drive their metabolisms by direct or indirect utilization of electrical potential gradients. Whereas many microorganisms are capable of deriving the energy required for the processes of interest (such as carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation) from sunlight, it is believed that subsystems utilizing electrotrophs will exhibit smaller mass, volume, and power requirements than those that derive their energy from sunlight. In the first 2 years of the project, MSFC personnel conducted modeling, simulation, and conceptual design efforts to assist the project in selecting the best approaches to the application of bioelectrochemical technologies to ECLS. Figure 1 shows results of simulation of charge transport in an experimental system. Figure 2 shows one of five conceptual designs for ECLS subsystems based on bioelectrochemical reactors. Also during the first 2 years, some work was undertaken to gather fundamental data (conductivities, overpotentials) relevant to the modeling efforts.

Howard, David↗

NASA NTRS2016

Genelab: Scientific Partnerships and an Open-Access Database to Maximize Usage of Omics Data from Space Biology Experiments

NASA's mission includes expanding our understanding of biological systems to improve life on Earth and to enable long-duration human exploration of space. The GeneLab Data System (GLDS) is NASA's premier open-access omics data platform for biological experiments. GLDS houses standards-compliant, high-throughput sequencing and other omics data from spaceflight-relevant experiments. The GeneLab project at NASA-Ames Research Center is developing the database, and also partnering with spaceflight projects through sharing or augmentation of experiment samples to expand omics analyses on precious spaceflight samples. The partnerships ensure that the maximum amount of data is garnered from spaceflight experiments and made publically available as rapidly as possible via the GLDS. GLDS Version 1.0, went online in April 2015. Software updates and new data releases occur at least quarterly. As of October 2016, the GLDS contains 80 datasets and has search and download capabilities. Version 2.0 is slated for release in September of 2017 and will have expanded, integrated search capabilities leveraging other public omics databases (NCBI GEO, PRIDE, MG-RAST). Future versions in this multi-phase project will provide a collaborative platform for omics data analysis. Data from experiments that explore the biological effects of the spaceflight environment on a wide variety of model organisms are housed in the GLDS including data from rodents, invertebrates, plants and microbes. Human datasets are currently limited to those with anonymized data (e.g., from cultured cell lines). GeneLab ensures prompt release and open access to high-throughput genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data from spaceflight and ground-based simulations of microgravity, radiation or other space environment factors. The data are meticulously curated to assure that accurate experimental and sample processing metadata are included with each data set. GLDS download volumes indicate strong interest of the scientific community in these data. To date GeneLab has partnered with multiple experiments including two plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) experiments, two mice experiments, and several microbe experiments. GeneLab optimized protocols in the rodent partnerships for maximum yield of RNA, DNA and protein from tissues harvested and preserved during the SpaceX-4 mission, as well as from tissues from mice that were frozen intact during spaceflight and later dissected on the ground. Analysis of GeneLab data will contribute fundamental knowledge of how the space environment affects biological systems, and as well as yield terrestrial benefits resulting from mitigation strategies to prevent effects observed during exposure to space environments.

bioinformatics↗

NASA NTRS2017

Brushing Your Spacecrafts Teeth: A Review of Biological Reduction Processes for Planetary Protection Missions

Much like keeping your teeth clean, where you brush away biofilms that your dentist calls "plaque," there are various methods to clean spaceflight hardware of biological contamination, known as biological reduction processes. Different approaches clean your hardware's "teeth" in different ways and with different levels of effectiveness. We know that brushing at home with a simple toothbrush is convenient and has a different level of impact vs. getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist. In the same way, there are some approaches to biological reduction that may require simple tools or more complex implementation approaches (think about sonicating or just soaking your dentures, vs. brushing them). There are also some that are more effective for different degrees of cleanliness and still some that have materials compatibility concerns. In this article, we review known and NASA-certified approaches for biological reduction, pointing out materials compatibility concerns and areas where additional research is needed.

Pugel, D. E. (Betsy)↗