iss057e114874

iss057e114874 (12/9/2018) --- A view of the Kubik incubator containing the experiment canisters for the Molecular Muscle investigation. The Molecular Muscle investigation examines the molecular causes of muscle abnormalities during spaceflight in order to establish effective countermeasures. Using the validated model organism C. elegans, combined with flight-validated methodologies, this experiment targets the molecular alterations that are most consistently correlated with muscular and metabolic abnormalities across species in spaceflight (i.e. insulin- and attachment-mediated signaling). The success of the interventions in recovering muscle health is assessed by successfully preventing the gene and protein expression changes that are repeatedly observed in spaceflight.