Microgravity

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. The objective of the research was to define a way to differentiate between effects due to microgravity and those due to possible stress from non-optimal spaceflight conditions. These Jurkat cells, a human acute T-cell leukemia was obtained to evaluate three types of potential experimental stressors: a) Temperature elevation; b) Serum starvation; and c) Centrifugal force. The data from previous spaceflight experiments showed that actin filaments and cell shape are significantly different for the control. These normal cells serve as the baseline for future spaceflight experiments.