Parkinson’s disease affects more than 5 million people around the world. While scientists now understand Parkinson’s cause, finding a cure for this chronic disease has so far alluded them. Now, NASA astronauts on the ISS are providing unprecedented insight into Parkinson’s disease.
NASA has now showcased some of the research taking place on the ISS with a new video, in which NASA astronaut Serena Auñon-Chancellor explains how studying the protein crystals which see promoted growth in Parkinson’s patients can help scientists discover how to stop it.
Scientists get a better idea of how the disease works and develop drugs
NASA spokesperson
Examining those crystals in space is particularly helpful for researchers because the extreme low-gravity environment in the ISS allows the crystals to grow larger.
This, in turn, reveals important intricacies in the crystals’s structure, which is hoped to hold the key to devising a strategy to inhibit them.
A NASA spokesperson said: “Without knowing the precise structure of these crystals, such work is like making a key without knowing the shape of the keyhole it must fit.
“Growing LRRK2 crystals on Earth is difficult and does not produce samples with high enough quality for researchers to determine the protein’s shape and structure – the keyhole.
“Protein crystals grow larger and more uniformly in space, though.
“Scientists can analyse the larger space-grown crystals to get a better idea of how the disease works and develop drugs – or keys – that target the condition more effectively and with fewer side effects.”
What is particularly impressive about NASA’s involvement in the research is the real-time collaboration with their contemporaries on Earth, thanks to the latest communication technology.
A feed keeps the pair continuously connected, and with minimal delay, allowing Earthbound scientists to study the material as though they were also in space.
This investigation builds on a previous experiment, CASIS PCG 7.
The video shows European Space Agency astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst using a microscope to examine and photograph the crystals.
Dr Gerst interacted in real time with investigators on the ground, including scientists at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, and University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California.
The NASA spokesperson added: “This space station research may bring those working to treat and prevent Parkinson’s disease one step closer to finding the right key.”
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