Medicine & Biotechnology
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These programs involved various on ground and in orbit researches at cell, animal and human level, and involved participation of dozens of research institutes, hundreds of researchers and a variety of industries. Collected data are providing new knowledge on topics with immediate impact in terms of population well-being and are essential in the perspective of planetary colonization. |
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The three programs involved the use of on-orbit facilities developed by ASI (MDS, HPA, ELITE-S2, ALTEA). In the frame of OSMA ALTEC also supplied important services to ASI experiment MDS (Mice Drawer System). MDS is a space stabularium that accommodated 6 mice for 90 days on the ISS, establishing a record of exposure to the microgravity for animals models and re-entering to earth the 28th, November 2009. Associated to program MDS, ASI promoted a complex international program of biological tissue sharing, that allowed team of scientists spread on three continents (Americans, Italians, Belgian, Germans, Canadians, and Japanese) to benefit of the data of this extraordinary mission. The entities that collaborate to ASI programs include Universities of Medicine and Biotechnology, Research Institutes and Industries, all sharing the task of developing the scientific aspects of the proposed initiatives and to achieve the equipment for on-orbit testing. The implementation of programs of Medicine and Biotechnology implies:
ALTEC was involved as the Lead of Industries (OSMA) and Head of Operations (DCMC and MOMA).
In OSMA, for MDS, ALTEC coordinated the shipment of hundreds of highly perishable biological samples from the shuttle landing NASA base to researchers around the world. During the program DCMC, ALTEC supported audio / video links from the Space Station during the execution of experiments ELITE – S2 and HPA. |
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In the frame of medicine and biology applications, ALTEC is also promoting among scientists the use of the Neutral Buoyancy Test Facility NBTF (a unique pool completely out of the ground, equipped with three huge windows and a control room with audio/video connection to the subject under test) as a powerful tool to support neuroscience research in studies about e.g. orientation, equilibrium, locomotion, space perception, attitude, physiological parameters control, internal gravity models, and capability to forecast objects motion.
Different levels of study of the muscle atrophy and osteoporosis within program OSMA: |