Benefits for Humanity: Hope Crystalizes

Ben­e­fits for Human­i­ty: Hope Crystalizes



Space,Laboratory,Protein,Crystal,Growth,Station,NASA,Duchenne Mus­cu­lar Dystrophy,DMD,JAXA,Yoshihiro Urade,Science,Microgravity,Benefits



Descrip­tion: In one of many direct Earth appli­ca­tions of Inter­na­tion­al Space Sta­tion research, the newest
Ben­e­fits for Human­i­ty video in the Ben­e­fits series high­lights how high qual­i­ty crys­tals grown in micro­grav­i­ty lead to new ther­a­peu­tics for dis­ease. Learn how the inves­ti­ga­tion of pro­tein crys­tals in space is help­ing treat Duchenne Mus­cu­lar Dys­tro­phy (DMD), an incur­able genet­ic dis­or­der affect­ing the mus­cles with onset usu­al­ly in ear­ly child­hood and pri­mar­i­ly in young males.

Since 2003, sci­en­tists with the Japan Aero­space Explo­ration Agency have con­duct­ed pro­tein crys­tal growth inves­ti­ga­tions on the space sta­tion, includ­ing pro­teins asso­ci­at­ed with DMD. Crys­tals grown on Earth are impact­ed by grav­i­ty, which may affect the way the mol­e­cules align on the sur­face of the crys­tal. Researchers have dis­cov­ered that grow­ing crys­tals aboard the space sta­tion allows for slow­er growth and high­er qual­i­ty crys­tals. Hav­ing a bet­ter under­stand­ing of the protein’s shape enabled researchers to design a drug that fits specif­i­cal­ly into a loca­tion on the pro­tein asso­ci­at­ed with DMD. The research team esti­mates that the drug may be able to slow the pro­gres­sion of DMD by half.

With many oth­er pro­tein crys­tal growth stud­ies occur­ring or planned aboard the space sta­tion, many thou­sands of oth­er pro­teins’ struc­tures could be deter­mined. This is yet anoth­er way the orbit­ing lab­o­ra­to­ry is enabling research Off the Earth, For the Earth.



#Ben­e­fits #Human­i­ty #Hope #Crys­tal­izes