Antibody engineering--a valuable asset in preventing closed environment epidemics

Investigations of Mir, Space Shuttle, Skylab and Apollo missions report extensive colonisation of the spacecraft by bacteria and fungi, which can lead to degradative effects on spacecraft equipment and devastating effects on space-grown crops. More than 80% of terrestrial greenhouse epidemics are due to the fungal genera Phytophthora, Pythium and Fusarium, which have been found in life support system test-beds. The advent of recombinant antibody technologies, including ribosome display and phage display, has made it possible to develop antibodies against virtually any toxin or organism and allows for maturation of antibodies by in vitro molecular evolution. These antibodies may play an important role in an integrated pest management regime for life support systems. Efficacy of existing fungal countermeasures could be increased by chemical linkage to antibodies, which target the site of action of the biocide or trap the pathogen in a biofilter. Novel recombinant antibody-biocide fusions can be expressed in situ by plants or symbiotic microbes to create direct disease resistance.     

Environmental protection in space: a quantitative policy study

Survey data were collected in the USA from a national sample of chief executive officers. The first goal of the research was to identify national policies and strategies to control orbital debris, without imposing undue negative impacts on the US private and governmental space sectors. The second goal was to test a theoretical model, developed to predict the willingness of respondents to accept a national space environmental safety programme. National and International implications were drawn.     

Spaceflight-relevant types of ionizing radiation and cortical bone: Potential LET effect?

Extended exposure to microgravity conditions results in significant bone loss. Coupled with radiation exposure, this phenomenon may place astronauts at a greater risk for mission-critical fractures. In a previous study, we identified a profound and prolonged loss of trabecular bone (29–39%) in mice following exposure to an acute, 2 Gy dose of radiation simulating both solar and cosmic sources. However, because skeletal strength depends on trabecular and cortical bone, accurate assessment of strength requires analysis of both bone compartments. The objective of the present study was to examine various properties of cortical bone in mice following exposure to multiple types of spaceflight-relevant radiation. Nine-week old, female C57BL/6 mice were sacrificed 110 days after exposure to a single, whole body, 2 Gy dose of gamma, proton, carbon, or iron radiation. Femora were evaluated with biomechanical testing, microcomputed tomography, quantitative histomorphometry, percent mineral content, and micro-hardness analysis. Compared to non-irradiated controls, there were significant differences compared to carbon or iron radiation for only fracture force, medullary area and mineral content. A greater differential effect based on linear energy transfer (LET) level may be present: high-LET (carbon or iron) particle irradiation was associated with a decline in structural properties (maximum force, fracture force, medullary area, and cortical porosity) and mineral composition compared to low-LET radiation (gamma and proton). Bone loss following irradiation appears to be largely specific to trabecular bone and may indicate unique biological microenvironments and microdosimetry conditions. However, the limited time points examined and non-haversian skeletal structure of the mice employed highlight the need for further investigation.     

The ultraviolet view of the Magellanic Clouds from GALEX: A first look at the LMC source catalog

The Galaxy Evolution Exporer (GALEX) has performed unprecedented imaging surveys of the Magellanic Clouds (MC) and their surrounding areas including the Magellanic Bridge (MB) in near-UV (NUV, 1771-2831 Å) and far-UV (FUV, 1344-1786 Å) bands at 5^″$5^{″}$ resolution. Substantially more area was covered in the NUV than FUV, particularly in the bright central regions, because of the GALEX FUV detector failure. The 5σ$\sigma$ depth of the NUV imaging varies between 20.8 and 22.7 (ABmag). Such imaging provides the first sensitive view of the entire content of hot stars in the Magellanic System, revealing the presence of young populations even in sites with extremely low star-formation rate surface density like the MB, owing to high sensitivity of the UV data to hot stars and the dark sky at these wavelengths.