How can we make

today’s medicines

work better, faster

and with fewer

side effects?

E D U C ATO R ’ S FA C T S H E E T : Human Biology and Medicine

For thousands of years, scientists have been studying the human

body and determining how to best treat illnesses. Today we

enjoy the benefits of modern medicine through living longer—

fighting diseases that were once life-threatening and protecting

our children from unnecessary sickness. Even with that innovation

over the years, we continue to strive to make medicine more

effective and to understand the human body even better. How

can we make today’s medicines work better, faster and with

fewer side effects? Scientists ask these questions on Earth every

day—and now, they may find their answers in space.

• Bone loss: As mentioned above, bone loss in astronauts

and animal models on the station is similar to that which

occurs in patients with osteoporosis on Earth.

• Muscle loss: Studying muscle loss in astronauts may

yield information about a variety of diseases on Earth;

for example, muscular dystrophy.

• Immune dysfunction: Changes in the ability of the

immune system to function in space make astronauts

and animal models (and even single cells in cell

culture experiments) react differently to infections. For

example, viruses that are in the human body (such as

the chicken pox virus, which stays in the body even

though the effects of the initial infection have stopped)

reactivate and cause illnesses in astronauts. In the case

of the chicken pox virus, reactivation causes shingles,

which is a painful, blistering rash. Studying why these

viruses reactivate, and the effects on the astronauts just

before activation, may allow scientists to develop drugs

to prevent reactivation or to shorten the timeframe of

the resulting sicknesses. Such a treatment for shingles,

resulting from astronaut observations, is in clinical trials

on Earth.

▶ Animal models: New technologies have opened up

increased research opportunities for using animal models

to study body system changes onboard the space station’s

U.S. National Laboratory. These models include, but are

not limited to, rodents, worms, flies and fish. This research

may lead to significant results in the field of human aging

and disease, as discussed above. For example, a drug

tested on rodents in space now treats many osteoporosis

patients on Earth.

Health effects of spaceflight

How does space-based science help us understand human

biology and medicine? For one, astronauts experience

changes in their body systems that are similar to the effects

of disease and aging on Earth. Monitoring the health of

astronauts, and studying corresponding body system

changes in laboratory animals, may help scientists better

understand how these health problems occur on Earth.

▶ Astronaut observation: What is the benefit of studying

body system changes in astronauts? One reason is that

the body system effects occur much more rapidly in

space than on Earth, allowing experiments to be done

in much shorter time frames. For example, the bone loss

seen in astronauts on the International Space Station in

one month is roughly equivalent to bone loss over one

year in a patient with osteoporosis. Therefore, research in

space may find answers about the nature of diseases and

potential treatments more quickly than ground studies.

Some examples of body system changes in space include:

E D U C ATO R ’ S FA C T S H E E T : Human Biology and Medicine

Drug development on the station

In additional research areas, gravity (and the lack thereof) has

strong effects on many biological and physical processes.

Some of these changes allow scientists to study and develop

new drugs to treat diseases on Earth. Some examples:

▶ Protein and large-molecule analysis: Scientists study the

way proteins and other large molecules work by using a

method called crystallization, which causes a molecule to

form a crystal that shows its 3-D structure. Some molecules

display larger and better-defined crystal structures in

space. Crystal structures allow scientists to get a better

idea of how important biological molecules look. Using

these crystal structures, scientists not only can learn about

how molecules function but also can better understand

how to develop new drugs to attack harmful molecules.

For example, a potential treatment for Duchenne

muscular dystrophy currently in testing on Earth resulted

from crystallization studies in space.

▶ Antibiotic production: The process of producing antibiotics

often includes the use of microorganisms (such as

bacteria) to make needed chemicals. This process is

complex. For example, in the process, bacteria survive

the toxic effects of chemicals they are producing. In

space, bacteria have shown increased production of

antibiotic chemicals. Understanding why this occurs may

help scientists improve the production process—and

even a small improvement may mean big changes in

reducing the cost of making antibiotics. This could lead

to better access on Earth to treatments for bacterial

infections. Such studies may even lead to improvement

in the effectiveness of antibiotics.

CASIS, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, and the CASIS Center for the Advancement of Science in Space logo are trademarks of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space in the U.S. and/or other countries.CASIS, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, and the CASIS Center for the Advancement of Science in Space logo are trademarks of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) manages

the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory. This laboratory

supports basic and applied research across the range of physics, chemistry, engineering, materials science and

biology, as well as opportunities for technology development and education initiatives. CASIS is the gateway to

space-based research onboard this National Lab—and to all the excitement it offers to researchers and students.

For more information, visit www.iss-casis.org or scan the code to your left.

To learn more, contact CASIS: info@iss-casis.org

ISS photos courtesy of NASA.

The role of space science in education

A microgravity environment, like that of the space station’s

National Lab, can promote the types of advanced research

and medicine formulation that will ultimately improve human

health on Earth. The research onboard the space station is

unique and exciting, providing a new resource for project-

based learning and for using modern breakthroughs to illustrate

traditional science concepts. This new era in scientific discovery

comes just in time to inspire a new generation to continue the

quest for scientific exploration, educating the future leaders

and decision makers of our country and the world.

Note: NASA, not CASIS, manages some human biology and medicine

experiments in space. These experiments have to do with how humans

react to spaceflight. The results will help astronauts stay healthy and

will help humankind prepare for longer trips into space—even for

living in space! To learn about these NASA-managed experiments, visit

www.nasa.gov/exploration/humanresearch/index.html.

E D U C ATO R ’ S FA C T S H E E T : Human Biology and Medicine