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INSIDE:READY TO RESEARCHCASIS EDUCATIONMUCH MORE!

NOVEMBER 2012

T H E O F F I C I A L C A S I S N E W S L E T T E R

As CASIS moves forward with expanding the research portfolio for the

International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, the organization is engaging many sectors. By networking with a broad range of academic and commercial researchers, CASIS is building a foundation of diverse research as well as kick-starting a critical cycle that will attract even more users.

Research achievements alone are enough to start a feed-forward cycle of station awareness and utilization: awareness of station successes leads to scientific interest and thus more users, which lead to more breakthroughs and more interest, and so on. A variety of projects in the CASIS pipeline promise to propel this cycle of growth and achievement. In addition, commercial interest in performing research on station testifies to the power and success of this research platform—further feeding the cycle by conveying to the research community that National Lab research is a powerful and lucrative investment. Along these lines, some projects of note in the current CASIS pipeline include the first three projects to receive CASIS grant awards and three commercial projects that bring their own funding to the table.

The first CASIS-funded research

The first CASIS grant awardees, selected following the CASIS call for research proposals titled “Advancing Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity,” will perform research in the field of protein structure

NOVEMBER2012WH T’S UP.OVERVIEW OF SELECTED RESEARCH

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As thefirst CASIS-

funded researchprepares to fly,interest in ISSpotential isspreading

determination (using a technique called crystallization).

A protein’s structure governs its function, so every detail of a protein

may yield important information about how the protein works. In the microgravity

environment of space, certain techniques to study protein structure often yield more information about the protein’s features than can be obtained on Earth. Protein research in microgravity could therefore lead to breakthroughs in targeted drug development and in understanding human disease.

The three awarded projects focus on proteins involved in human health. The first will examine membrane proteins, a common class of proteins involved in many diseases, whose structures are particularly hard to determine. The second examines the protein responsible for Huntington’s disease, whose structure is at the heart of its disease-causing effects. The third examines an enzyme involved in a variety of cell functions, whose mechanism of action is unknown. These studies may lead to important advancements in these research areas that may never have been achieved using only experiments on Earth—thus robustly illustrating the value of space-based research to the research community.

Commercial involvement in space science

In addition to the CASIS grant awardees, the first of the three commercial projects mentioned above is also in

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INSPIRING YOUTH WITH ...

Story TimeFrom Space

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As science and technology continue to improve quality of life worldwide, “science literacy” has become

a buzzword in U.S. education. Students in the U.S. consistently score far behind other countries in science areas, and literacy across all content areas is a major goal of current education initiatives—promoting science

and other subjects through reading and increasing student comprehension of technical writing. Story Time From Space, a CASIS-sponsored program currently ramping up to start next year, promotes this

important goal and other national education standards by combining reading with science demonstrations to promote student understanding of science.

In the program, an astronaut onboard the station will read from the book Max Goes to the International Space Station by award-winning author Dr. Jeffrey Bennett. The book, written specifically for this program, is a prequel to several other space-themed books about Max the dog in space. Astronauts will also conduct demonstrations on station to illustrate science concepts from the book, and the CASIS website will house videos of the book readings and demonstrations, making them freely available to classrooms worldwide. Additional online materials (such as lesson plans and tutorials on how to use the program) will target educators in both formal education settings such as schools and informal settings like libraries, science centers and museums.

As part of the program, CASIS will buy 10,000 copies of Max Goes to the International Space Station, distributing

them primarily at national education conferences and other professional development venues. CASIS will also hold associated professional development workshops at these venues. CASIS is reaching

out to the International Reading Association, the Public Library Association and the National Science

Teachers Association, among others, to promote the use of Story Time From Space as an ideal tool for teaching science through reading.

In initial outreach activities, program representatives have recently spoken with over 600 educators in two urban areas about Story Time From Space

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INTERIMCHIEF

SCIENTIST

BY EMILY WHITESCIENCECOMMUNICATIONSWRITER

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NOVEMBER2012

CASIS achieved a major milestone this month when it awarded its inaugural research grants

to three projects in the field of protein structure determination. This achievement marks the completion of the first full selection process for

proposals solicited, reviewed and prioritized by CASIS.

The selection process for these projects began with a CASIS-issued Request for Proposals (RFP) in the area of protein crystallography, a technique used to determine the structure of proteins. Because a protein’s structure determines how it functions, using crystallography to study the features of a protein may yield information about a protein’s role in health and disease. However, proteins do not maintain their shape

BY DUANE RATLIFFCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

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NOVEMBER2012

when they are outside of their natural environment in the human body, so researchers must create solutions that force proteins to take on their natural structure—

in the form of a protein “crystal”—before studying them.

While researchers have used crystallography techniques for decades, fewer than one in five proteins important to human health have known structures. The vast range of protein shapes and sizes makes it hard to determine a standard set of conditions for growing protein crystals that are of sufficient quality for analysis. Crystals grown in space, however, are sometimes of higher quality than those on the ground. To take advantage of these benefits of the space environment, CASIS issued its first RFP, “Advancing Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity,” in June. The three projects selected by CASIS will use the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory as platform to obtain high-quality protein crystals for analyses that might lead to medical breakthroughs on Earth.

The Pioneering CASIS Grant Awardees

The first of the three awarded projects, submitted by Dr. Stephen Aller at the University of Alabama – Birmingham, focuses on membrane proteins—proteins that play a role in many diseases but are notoriously hard to crystallize. Aller’s proposal aims to study a subgroup of membrane proteins that sometimes interfere with medical treatments, so the project may yield broadly applicable results relevant to therapies for anything from high cholesterol to cancer to cystic fibrosis.

The second project, submitted by Dr. Pamela Bjorkman at from the California Institute of Technology, focuses on the protein responsible for Huntington’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. The defective structure of the protein in affected individuals is the cause of the disease, so analyzing this protein is critical to understanding the disease and developing potential treatments.

The final project, submitted by Dr. Joseph Ng at iXpressGenes Inc., aims to produce protein crystals large enough for a specific type of crystallography that can show very intricate details of protein structure. The benefits of space-based experiments include the potential to produce not only higher quality crystals

but also larger crystals. The enzyme Ng aims to study is involved in a variety of cell functions, including protein production—but a very detailed part of how this enzyme works is unknown. Producing crystals that allow analysis of very small and detailed structural features should help researchers understand this aspect of the protein’s function.

Paving the way for future studies

In addition to having significant relevance to medicine, drug development and basic science, these research projects will also help establish best practices for performing protein crystallography in space. Previously, researchers have seen examples of improved structure determination from space studies, but not all proteins studied have shown improved structures. Researchers do not know why some proteins benefit from microgravity more than others do, nor do they know which specific methods are best for performing these experiments.

The CASIS awarded projects will begin to overcome these unknowns. For example, in the first project, methods for successfully studying membrane proteins in space would be revolutionary—these are the largest class of proteins in the human body, and very few have known structures. Similarly, the specific structural feature responsible for Huntington’s disease is also present in other disease proteins, so best practices for studying this feature in space will pave the way for future studies in other disease proteins. Finally, determining the best way to consistently produce large crystals, the goal of the enzyme experiment, would be broadly relevant to the field of crystallography by allowing analysis of very specific structural features.

Protein structure analysis promises to yield results influencing research in a variety of aspects of human health, including research in drug design and other disease therapies. Moreover, optimization of conditions for experiments in space will demonstrate reproducibility and consistency of space-based research methods. Upcoming CASIS-sponsored projects are thus tackling a variety of goals that will further establish the National Lab as a credible, easy to use and powerful platform for the next generation of R&D—producing both groundbreaking results in the field of human health and a streamlined path forward for future experiments in this critical field.

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and its objectives. Surveys in one of these cities then asked around 400 of these educators how likely they were to use the program (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best) in their classrooms. Averaged answers ranged from 7.6 for high school educators to 9.3 for elementary school educators—and almost 100% responded that they liked the concept, even if they might not use it in their

classroom. Encouragingly, almost all the educators also provided their contact information so that program representatives could keep them updated regarding the program.

After finishing Max Goes to the International Space Station, Story Time From Space will continue, using other books in the Max series and eventually books by other authors to promote science and literacy. Research indicates the largest percentage of U.S. students

lose interest in science during middle school, so engaging young students in science areas is especially important to shaping future innovators. Story Time From Space, by targeting students in elementary school, promotes science literacy at this crucial time—and long term, CASIS education initiatives such as this will help prepare students for success in a challenging future by providing them with the skills that will help them succeed.

HIGHLIGHTS

The CASIS Education team participated in numerous National Science Teacher Association events during the month of November. These events provided an opportunity for staff to discuss the Story Time From Space project and upcoming education initiatives.

During the month of November, the CASIS website eclipsed over 100,000 views from the public. Additionally, the CASIS twitter account, @ISS_CASIS has attained over 19,000 followers receiving regular updates on newsworthy science and aerospace developments.

In November, CASIS announced three grant awardees from its first request forproposals: Advancing Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity. Research isslated to launch to Station in summer, 2013.

C L I C K T H E H A N D F O R M O R E I N F O

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the field of protein structure. In this project, the pharmaceutical development company Merck will study an antibody (an immune system protein), toward the development of commercial products and drug development applications. The two other commercial projects are in physical science fields. The lack of gravity in space allows researchers to evaluate aspects of how fluids and mixtures move, interact and solidify—which can yield important information about how to create better, less expensive and longer-lasting products. Using these features of microgravity, the multinational product manufacturer Procter & Gamble will examine aspects of complex fluid physics

with the goal of improving product formulations and shelf life. Similarly, the sporting goods company COBRA PUMA GOLFTM plans to exploit fluid physics to improve materials design for its products and to use the harsh space environment to perform extreme tests of durability.

These commercial projects join an already strong collection of research in the CASIS pipeline—including the first CASIS grant awarded projects—and their addition is an important benchmark of success for CASIS in diversifying the National Lab user base.

In addition, the fact that these commercial entities have come to CASIS, fully funded, with unsolicited research proposals is a

strong endorsement of the station’s value. It is an

exciting time as high-profile academic and commercial use of

the National Lab continues to grow, promising to increase awareness and interest in space science. The feed-forward cycle of station utilization that will begin with these upcoming projects will not only build the foundation for a robust future for space station use but also pioneer a skyrocketing involvement in this exciting R&D platform of tomorrow.

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