“ So , we were able to simulate microgravity in one respect and make a ring sheared drop at the same scale in the lab as in space ,” says principal investigator Amir Hirsa of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . “ But the protein solution we sent to space is many orders of magnitude more viscous . So , you can match some but not all aspects of the space experiment . No surprise , heaven and Earth are not interchangeable : there is just no replacement for microgravity .”
The Ring Sheared Drop device pins a drop of liquid between two rings and rotates one while keeping the other stationary to create shear flow , or a difference in velocity between adjacent liquid layers . Previous research shows that this shear flow plays a significant role in the early stages of amyloid formation. Creating the phenomenon is , thereforee , an essential feature of the device , Hirsa explains . Other researchers already are using the method to examine actual transport of amyloid plaque in the brain , and it could ultimately benefit development of pharmaceuticals . “ Our study may inform drug development , looking at how plaque can be transported out , and whether its transport causes more harm than good .”
Hirsa notes that drugs for removing amyloid plaque from the brain have already been developed . “ The idea of transport or flow of amyloid fibrils from a diseasedd brain is not a pipe dream
, it is a focus of pharmaceutical research ,” he says . “ Our work is one brick in a very large wall .” The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXAA ) Amyloid study and the Amyloid Aggregation study
, a collaboration between the Italian Space Agency ( ASI ) and ESA ( European Space Agency ), also analyzed amyloid fibrils formed in microgravity . Amyloid results published in
2020 reveal that fibrils form distinct structuress and grow more slowly in microgravity , making the space station an ideal environment for detailed analysis of the mechanisms of how they form . Such analysis also could contribute to the development of new pharmaceuticals aimed at inhibiting amyloid fibril formation . Breathing easier in space and on Earth
Research aimed at protecting the lungs and airways of astronauts is helping people with asthma and other breathing issues on Earth . For ESA ’ s Airway Monitoring study , whichh builds on results from earlier NOA-1 and NOA-2 experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station , researchers at Sweden
’ s Karolinskaa Institute collaborated with medical technologists and developed an instrument that measures exhaled air for nitric oxide . Clinics and hospitals already use the devicee as a quick
, low-cost tool to help diagnose inflamed lungs and asthma , and testing the technique in space adds data for improving its use on Earth .
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst exhales into an analyzer for the Airway Monitoring experiment , which studies airway inflammationn in crew members . The investigation could help keep crews safe on long-term missions to the Moon , Mars , and beyond , and improve treatments for patients on Earth with asthma or other airway inflammatory diseases .
Credits : NASA