From Medtronic:

The ISS has utilized manual defibrillators in the past, but NASA decided to now deploy an AED because it requires less training and maintenance, better enabling astronauts to respond to a medical emergency. The small size and light weight of the 1000 also helped minimize hardware mass and volume onboard the Space Station.

NASA conducted extensive evaluations of 18 AEDs available worldwide before selecting the LIFEPAK 1000 defibrillator to protect the crew members of the ISS. The AED evaluations focused on user interface, ease of use, durability and detailed technical specifications related to the unique conditions encountered in space, including electromagnetic interference, pressure susceptibility, temperature, vibration, acceleration and other environmental factors. Additionally, Medical Operations personnel evaluated the use of LIFEPAK 1000 in zero gravity conditions aboard a NASA DC-9 test aircraft as part of developing their advanced life support use protocols.

With the exception of a customized battery developed and provided by Micro Power Electronics, a leading manufacturer of custom batteries and power systems, and a NASA-created cover for the device that is specifically designed for space use to help protect it from electromagnetic interference, the LIFEPAK 1000 was deployed on board the Space Station in the same device configuration used by professional emergency responders.

Product page: LIFEPAK 1000...

Product brochure...

NASA Selects LIFEPAK® 1000 Defibrillator from Physio-Control as First Automated External Defibrillator in Space...

Interestingly, SAS symptoms can even be experienced after lengthy exposure to high gravitational forces in a human centrifuge, as is used for instance for testing and training fighter pilots. To experience this, people have to spend longer than an hour in a centrifuge and be subjected to gravitational forces of three times higher than that on Earth. The rotation is in itself not unpleasant, but after leaving the centrifuge about half of the test subjects experience the same symptoms as caused by space sickness. It also turns out that astronauts who suffer from space sickness during space flights also experience these symptoms following lengthy rotation on Earth. This means that these symptoms are not caused by weightlessness as such, but more generally by adaptation to a different gravitational force.

Suzanne Nooij has studied these effects closely using the human centrifuge at the Centre for Man and Aviation in Soesterberg. Her results confirm the theory that both types of nausea (space sickness and after rotation) are caused by the same mechanism and also provide better insight into why the symptoms arise.

Logically, Nooij focused her research on the organ of balance. This is located in the inner ear and comprises semi-circular canals, which are sensitive to rotation, and otoliths, which are sensitive to linear acceleration. It has previously been suggested that a difference between the functioning of the left and right otolith contributes to susceptibility to sickness among astronauts. If this is the case, this should also apply after lengthy rotation.
Nooij tested this otolith asymmetry hypothesis. The otolith and semi-circular canals functions on both sides were measured of fifteen test subjects known to be susceptible to space sickness. Those who suffered from space sickness following rotation proved to have high otolith asymmetry and more sensitive otolith and canal systems. These people could not be classified as sensitive or non-sensitive on the basis of this asymmetry alone, but could on the basis of a combination of various otolith and canal features. This demonstrates that the entire organ of balance is involved in space sickness and that it probably entails complex interactions between the various parts of the organ of balance.

Hopefully this knowledge will lead to better management of the condition, as vomit in a zero gravity environment can really put a dent on a trip.

Press release: Why do astronauts suffer from space sickness?

Image credit: Wellcome images: Packaging for Marzine anti-nausea drug showing an astronaut in space, presumably on the moon. Illustration c.1970i...

From a NASA statement:

This biosensor will be used to help prevent the spread of potentially deadly biohazards in water, food and other contaminated sources.

NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California licensed the biosensor technology to Early Warning Inc., Troy, N.Y. Under a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, NASA and Early Warning jointly will develop biosensor enhancements. Initially, the biosensor will be configured to detect the presence of common and rare strains of microorganisms associated with water-borne illnesses and fatalities.

"The biosensor makes use of ultra-sensitive carbon nanotubes which can detect biohazards at very low levels," explained Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for exploration technology and former director of the Center for Nanotechnology at Ames. "When biohazards are present, the biosensor generates an electrical signal, which is used to determine the presence and concentration levels of specific micro-organisms in the sample. Because of their tiny size, millions of nanotubes can fit on a single biosensor chip."

Early Warning company officials say food and beverage companies, water agencies, industrial plants, hospitals and airlines could use the biosensor to prevent outbreaks of illnesses caused by pathogens - without needing a laboratory or technicians.

"Biohazard outbreaks from pathogens and infectious diseases occur every day in the U.S. and throughout the world," said Neil Gordon, president of Early Warning. "The key to preventing major outbreaks is frequent and comprehensive testing for each suspected pathogen, as most occurrences of pathogens are not detected until after people get sick or die. Biohazards can enter the water supply and food chain from a number of sources which are very difficult to uncover."

Early Warning expects to launch its water-testing products in late 2008.

NASA press release: NASA Nanotechnology-Based Biosensor Helps Detect Biohazards...

During the Apollo lunar missions in the late 1960s and 1970s, the clingy particles were easily transported via spacesuits into the lunar lander following moonwalks. The amount of dust inside the vehicle was so great some astronauts reported they could smell it.

Even though there were no known illnesses due to exposure, lunar dust is a concern because it has properties comparable to that of fresh-fractured quartz, a highly toxic substance. However, the Apollo flights lasted only a few days. During the proposed return to the moon, astronauts will be exposed to lunar dust for longer periods of time, including missions that could last months.

Due to the moon’s reduced gravity and the size of its dust particles, the respiratory system’s process to remove unwanted matter may not work as efficiently as it does on Earth. “In the moon’s fractional gravity, particles remain suspended in the airways rather than settling out, increasing the chances of distribution deep in the lung, with the possible consequence that the particles will remain there for a long period of time,” Prisk said.

The lungs are a highly sensitive organ because of the large surface area that delivers oxygen molecules through a thin membrane directly to the blood. The health risk to astronauts increases as dust particles go deeper into the lungs.

To conduct the research, scientists take measurements during flights on NASA’s Microgravity Research Aircraft. These airplanes are used to provide short periods of reduced- and zero-gravity during a series of steep climbs and descents.

“During the portions of the flight in which gravity is reduced to levels seen on the lunar surface, we inject particles into a mouthpiece through which the study participants breathe,” Prisk said. “Subjects breathe in and out, and we measure how the particles behave and how many end up inside the lung.”

Prisk said the research flights have been beneficial so far. “With the reduced-gravity flights, we’re improving the process of assessing environmental exposure to inhaled particles,” he said. “We’ve learned that tiny particles (less than 2.5 microns) which are the most significant in terms of damage, are greatly affected by alterations in gravity.”

The next step is to investigate the risks and determine ways to limit exposure.

Press release: Astronaut health on moon may depend on good dusting...

The new software package accurately simulates the physics of radiation particles passing through spacecraft walls and human bodies. Such techniques will be essential to use for calculating the radiation doses received by astronauts on future voyages to the Moon and Mars.

To predict accurately the radiation risk faced by astronauts, scientists and engineers must tackle three separate problems: How much radiation is hitting the space vehicle? How much of that radiation is blocked by the available shielding? What are the biological effects of the radiation on the astronauts?

This project, funded by ESA’s General Studies Programme and the Swedish National Space Board, mostly concentrates on the second of those questions. It was initiated by Christer Fuglesang of ESA's European Astronaut Corps.

During a stay onboard the ISS in December 2006, he experienced firsthand the effects of space radiation. "You see flashes when you close your eyes as a result of interactions with your eye," he says.

The frequency of these flashes depends on where the ISS is in its orbit and the level of solar activity. There was a solar storm whilst Fuglesang was in space. "That night we were told to sleep in the more shielded sections of the station," he says.

The ESA simulation is called Dose Estimation by Simulation of the International Space Station (ISS) Radiation Environment (DESIRE). "The project was designed to provide a European capability in accurately predicting radiation doses onboard Columbus," says Petteri Nieminen, ESA’s Technical Officer on the study.

The first step was to build a programme that would accurately simulate the physics of radiation passing into a spacecraft and then through a human body. To do this, Tore Ersmark of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden worked with several existing software packages. These included a software toolkit known as Geant4, which simulates the propagation of radiation particles. Geant4 has been successfully used in disciplines such as space physics, medical physics and high-energy physics, and is developed by a large international collaboration involving ESA, CERN, and many other institutes and universities.

One of the lengthiest aspects of the work was that Ersmark had to build from scratch a computer model of the International Space Station itself. The configuration and orientation of the ISS are crucial parameters in defining the amount of matter that radiation passes through.

The Columbus module, launched into space by NASA's Space Shuttle on 7 February, is the most ambitious and sophisticated contribution to human spaceflight that Europe has yet made. It is equipped with radiation monitors to test the DESIRE predictions. "We are really pleased with the results from DESIRE and look forward to comparing them to the actual measurements," says Petteri.

Inside Columbus, during quiet solar times, the radiation levels are expected to be low. "Although they are several hundred times greater than the background radiation level here in Sweden, that is still not dangerous," says Ersmark.

Beyond Columbus, the DESIRE tool can be developed into a European software package that can be used to predict the radiation risks for other manned space flight missions, both close to Earth and beyond the protection of our planet’s magnetic field...

During the Apollo missions of the 1960s-70s, the astronauts were simply lucky not to have been in space during a major solar eruption that would have flooded their spacecraft with deadly radiation. Essentially, they took risks and got away with it. For the kind of long-duration journeys being talked about today, a far more robust system of predicting radiation doses is required.

Predicting the radiation risk to ESA's astronauts ...

Living in weightlessness can lead to aerobic deconditioning, muscle atrophy and bone loss, all of which can affect an astronaut's ability to perform physical tasks. On the International Space Station, crew members exercise daily to help counter the effects of prolonged weightlessness.

The treadmill simulates zero gravity by suspending human test subjects horizontally to remove the torso, head and limbs from the normal pull of gravity. Participants are pulled toward a vertically-mounted treadmill system where they can run or walk. The forces against a test subject's feet are precisely controlled and can mimic conditions of zero gravity in low Earth orbit or conditions on the moon, which has one-sixth the gravity of Earth. In addition to simulating exercise protocols, the device may be used to imitate the physiological effects of spacewalking.

Cleveland Clinic in Ohio collaborated closely with NASA in the development of the treadmill and currently is conducting bed rest studies with a similar device to understand how exercise during simulated spaceflight affects the muscles and bones.

Press release: NASA Uses Vertical Treadmill to Improve Astronaut Health in Space

And here is NASA demonstrating the actual device.

(hat tip: Wired)

From the statement by ASU:

Their results... reveal a key role for a master regulator, called Hfq, in triggering the genetic changes that show an increase in the virulence of Salmonella as a result of space flight. The results of these studies hold potential to greatly advance infectious disease research in space and here on Earth, and may lead to the development of new therapeutics to treat and prevent infectious disease.

To study the effects of space flight, Nickerson and colleagues sent specially contained tubes of Salmonella in an experimental payload aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The tubes of bacteria were placed in triple containment for safety and posed no threat to the health and safety of the crew during or after the mission.

During the flight, astronaut Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper activated growth of the bacteria in sealed hardware and 'fixed' the cultures after a day of growth to determine changes in gene and protein expression levels.

"The bacterial cultures were taken up into space and activated to grow in a separate compartment of the tubes called the growth chamber," said Nickerson. "The bacteria didn't have access to the growth chamber until Heide pushed down on a plunger which introduced the bacteria into the growth media. Then they were grown for 24 hours, and at the end of 24 hours, Heide pushed down on the plunger again, which either "fixed" the bacteria with chemicals that preserved the gene expression message, or else introduced fresh media to keep the bacteria growing to perform the virulence studies."

As a synchronous control experiment back on Earth, Nickerson's team grew an identical set of bacteria in the same type of tubes used for flight and incubated them in a special room at the NASA Kennedy Space Center called the orbital environmental simulator. "This simulator is linked in real-time to the shuttle, and duplicates the exact temperature, humidity and growth conditions of the shuttle, with the exception that they are not flying in space," said Nickerson. "In addition, we were also linked via real-time telecommunications with the shuttle crew when they were activating and terminating our experiments in flight, and we did the exact same things at the same time to the ground samples that the astronauts did to the flight samples - thus we had perfectly matched synchronous ground controls."

After the bacteria returned to Earth, the group performed the first global analysis of Salmonella to measure the effect of space flight on gene and protein expression and virulence. By measuring the gene and protein patterns, the researchers could hone in on the key molecular players necessary for virulence from among thousands of potential candidates.

"We chose to measure gene expression at the mRNA level since the technique to do this, called microarray analysis, is a highly advanced and convenient way to quantitatively measure the expression of every gene in a single experiment," said Wilson, who coordinated the team's molecular profiling efforts for the Nickerson lab, and played a central role in the performance of these experiments, including data analysis. "It is a very powerful technique that was very applicable to the space flight experiment. The isolation of mRNA poses particular challenges since it is very sensitive to degradation, but we designed the experiment using a fixative that preserved the mRNA very well."

After logging in millions of miles in space, the invaluable and well-traveled bacterial samples were analyzed back on Earth, and for the protein profiling studies, were taken to the University of Arizona's core proteomics facility at its Center for Toxicology to measure the level of every protein that had been subjected to space flight.

"Working with the UA group was great and we obtained very nice data that complemented the microarray analysis very well," said Wilson. "Keep in mind also that our body of mRNA and protein expression data from this experiment is precious, since comprehensive analysis of an organism's molecular genetic response to space flight is very rare."

Compared to bacteria that remained on earth, the space-traveling Salmonella had changed expression of 167 genes. After the flight, animal virulence studies showed that bacteria that were flown in space were almost three times as likely to cause disease when compared with control bacteria grown on the ground.

The study discovered that an important regulatory protein, Hfq, may be a key molecule responsible for the increased virulence due to space flight. "Hfq is a protein that binds to and regulates a number of regulatory RNAs, which in turn, control gene expression," said Nickerson. "Our studies suggest that there may be a role for these regulatory RNAs in the cellular response to the physical and mechanical forces found in space flight, which are relevant to conditions that cells encounter here on Earth during the normal course of their lifecycles."

Press release: Space flight shown to alter ability of bacteria to cause disease ...

Flashback: All Systems Go: NASA'S GeneSat-1...

The experiment will compare the precision and speed with which both human and robot surgeons can cut and stitch an incision, among other things. The SRI-developed software will help robo-doc compensate for the "errors in movement" that could be expected whether flying through space or over a battlefield in a medivac flight.

The SRI telerobotics allow the robot surgery to be controlled from thousands of miles away. When perfected, this system would allow patient care to begin the minute they close the ambulance door, according to Silicon Valley-based SRI.

"In remote telesurgery, a surgeon controls a multi-armed robot located at the patient's bedside from a distant location using a telecommunications network," SRI's Thomas Low said. "This has the potential to provide emergency medical and surgical care to astronauts during space flights, soldiers injured in battle and patients living in remote regions on Earth where there are no physicians."

More from C-NET...

(hat tip: Gizmodo)

"The crew takes a three-minute test that measures vigilance, attention and psychomotor speed. We've learned from laboratory experiments that the test is sensitive to fatigue and other factors that impact a person's ability to pay attention to a task and respond quickly," Dinges said [David F. Dinges, Ph.D., team leader of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute's Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors Team -ed]. "The test is taken at least four times a day - on waking, before and after simulated moon walks, dives and habitat experiments, and before bed."

The Psychomotor Vigilance Test, or PVT, was developed through Dinges' work with NSBRI, NASA, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. The user watches for a signal and responds when it appears, allowing the measurement of reaction times.

The crew also wears a wristwatch-sized device, called an Actiwatch®, that measures the sleep and wake cycle. The aquanauts provide saliva at various times each day including when they awake, before and after performing experiments and simulated moon walks, and before going to bed.

"With the saliva samples, we measure cortisol, a hormone that provides information on their stress levels," Dinges said. "Cortisol is normally high in the morning; it's a means of getting you going each day. If we see elevated cortisol after performing a high-level task, it would indicate some type of stress occurred during the activity."

The crew fills out brief questionnaires about how hard they are working, so researchers can get a sense of their physical and mental workload. Another questionnaire focuses on mood and interpersonal interactions between the crew as well as with mission control personnel.

More from NSBRI...