CBOSS-01-OVARIAN (BECKER)
To better understand the mechanisms that cause the differentiation of cells in microgravity,
a human ovarian tumor cell line is grown on ISS. This study aims to define mechanisms of
ovarian cancer with the goal of developing new ovarian cancer treatments.
CBOSS-01-PC12 (LELKES)
To better understand the mechanisms of neural regeneration and pain suppression, a
neuroendocrine cell line is grown on ISS and then returned to Earth for analysis.
CBOSS-02-ERYTHROPOIETIN (SYTKOWSKI)
To better understand the mechanisms that cause the differentiation of cells in microgravity,
7 cell lines of common human illnesses are grown on the ISS. This study is important for
understanding the mechanisms needed to fight immune dysfunction caused by microgravity.
CBOSS-02-HLT (ZIMMERBERG)
To better understand the mechanisms that cause the differentiation of cells in microgravity,
6 cell lines of common human illnesses are grown on ISS. This study is important for
understanding the mechanisms needed to fight diseases of the human immune system.
CBOSS-FDI (ZIMMERBERG)
CBOSS-FDI optimizes the procedures for dispersion of cells and molecules in microgravity
to enable future successes for growing cells in space. This investigation uses image analysis
to assess how well the particles mix and if the size of particles causes distribution differences.
EARTH BENEFITS
In the human body cells normally grow within a scaffolding of protein and carbohydrate fibers
that help create a 3-D structure. This is how organs maintain their shape. Studying cells on
Earth is difficult because outside the body cells tend to grow in flat sheets and are not capable
of duplicating the structure they normally hold, which often makes them behave differently
in the lab than they would in the body. Past research, however, has shown that cells grown
in microgravity arrange themselves into 3-D shapes, more closely duplicating how they behave
in the body.
The CBOSS-FDI experiments allows for a better
understanding of the physics of aqueous
bubble-liquid interaction and the effects of
gravity on surface tension.Stained microscopy image of erythroleukemia cells.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center image.