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NASA will send fungi into space to develop new medicine

By Liu Hongzuo - on 1 Apr 2016, 12:10pm

NASA will send fungi into space to develop new medicine

The International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

Come 8th April 2016, a team of researchers from both University of Southern California and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will send the Aspergillus nidulans fungi specimens to the International Space Station. The fungi delivery trip into space will be done via a SpaceX flight.

Researchers from USC said that the fungus was thoroughly studied, and it was capable of producing 40 different types of drugs, including osteoporosis drugs that are vital to astronauts as they experience bone loss during space travel.

Certain types of fungi, such as the Aspergillus nidulans, are capable of producing organic compound called secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites from fungi can be made into medicine – antibiotic Penicillin was made this way. However, getting the fungi to produce secondary metabolites requires placing them in a stressful environment – one which the International Space Station will hopefully provide for the fungus to work its magic.

Clay Wang, a professor at USC School of Pharmacy, and Kasthuri "Venkat" Venkateswaran, senior research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Image credit: Gus Ruelas

"The high-radiation, microgravity environment in space could prompt Aspergillus nidulans to produce molecules it doesn't create in Earth's less stressful conditions," said Clay Wang, Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemistry at the USC School of Pharmacy. Professor Wang also leads the USC-NASA space fungi collaboration.

Previously, two species of fungi from Antarctica survived an 18-month exposure to Mars-like conditions aboard the International Space Station. This time, four different strains of Aspergillus nidulans will be placed in ideal growth conditions at 37 degrees Celcius after arriving at the ISS. They will remain there for either four or seven days. The USC researchers will receive the samples after splashdown, in May

"This is the first project where we see an intersection between pharmaceutical science and space exploration," said Professor Wang. "Drugs have an expiration date. NASA's human mission to Mars is expected to last anywhere from one to three years. Not all drugs are going to be stable in that time period, so the ability to make drugs in space will enable us to go further away from Earth and will also benefit future space explorations.”

Source: University of Southern California via Engadget

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