Caenorhabditis elegans in space
The logo of the laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), led by Professor Nektarios Tavernarakis, is impressive. It depicts the two sides of the Phaistos disk traversed by the elegant nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans (=canorhabditis elegans, a name derived from a mixture of the Greek caeno- (καινο), rhabditis (rod) and the Latin elegans). This particular organism has been the main experimental animal and has served as a model for the eminent professor’s research for years, focusing on three aspects: 1) the molecule mechanism of necrotic cell death during neurodegeneration, 2) sensory transduction and integration in the nervous system and 3) how cell metabolism interacts with aging.
This laboratory animal will be leaving Earth very soon and going in to space. It’s an interesting and innovative experiment that has everyone excited. Caenorhabditis elegans samples will transfer to the ISS and left in oxygen-containing bags until they breed. The resistant larvae will freeze at -80oC and will return back to Earth for further examination by respected researchers. They will survey changes in their nervous and muscular systems.
With this research scientists will answer important questions such as:
How are the tissues and cells of an organism affected after prolonged exposure to microgravity conditions? How does microgravity affect muscle and neuronal morphology and function? What mechanisms are responsible for the loss of muscle mass observed in astronauts after long-term stays in space? What effect do conditions of weightlessness and cosmic radiation have on the aging process?
The material will be sent to the International Space Station in a scheduled launch. The launch will be from the Kennedy Space Center in the US on November 18th, 2018. The international effort coordinate Dr. Tim Etheridge of the University of Exeter and Prof. Nate Szewczyk of the University of Nottingham, UK. From Greece, the research team of Prof. Nietzsche Szewczyk and Prof. Nt. Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FORTH, from Greece, Prof. Atsushi Higashitani of Tohoku University from Japan, Prof. Monica Driscoll of Rutgers University from the United States of America and Prof. Jin Lee of Yonsei University from South Korea.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
