Biotech Case Study

The following papers both for the general reader and technical specialist provide background information on the case for biotech research on the International Space Station.

General Reader

Future Biotechnology Research on the International Space Station
This NRC report offers a variety of recommendations and suggestions for improving the NASA biotechnology research program.

Microgravity Cultivation of Cells and Tissues
This paper reviews rotating bioreactor tissue culture studies on the ground and on Mir and the ongoing development of a cell and tissue cultivation system for the International Space Station.

Space Product Development: Bringing The Benefits of Space Down to Earth
An overview of commercial space biotechnology research efforts managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.

Microgravity and Its Implications for Fermentation Biotechnology
"Space flight pharmaceutical research introduces the potential for obtaining unique insight into naturally occurring processes by removing the, normally present, influence of gravity."

The Space Factor - Fundamental and applied research benefiting Europe’s citizens and economy
A discussion of how space-based research sponsored by the European Space Agency, including biotechnology, is providing economic and societal benefits.




Technical Papers

Mechanical culture conditions effect gene expression: gravity-induced changes on the space shuttle. T. G. Hammond, E. Benes, K. C. O’Reilly, D. A. Wolf, R. M.Linnehan, A. Taher, J. H. Kaysen, P. L. Allen and T. J. Goodwin. Physiol. Genomics. 3:163-173, 2000.

Microbial Responses to Microgravity and Other Low-Shear Environments. Cheryl A. Nickerson, C. Mark Ott, James W. Wilson, Rajee Ramamurthy, and Duane L. Pierson. Microbiology And Molecular Biology Reviews, p. 345­361, June 2004.

Microgravity as a Novel Environmental Signal Affecting Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Virulence. Cheryl A. Nickerson, C. Mark Ott, Sarah J. Mister, Brian J. Morrow, Lisa Burns-Keliher, Duane L. Pierson. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY, p. 3147­3152, June 2000.

Tissue engineering of cartilage in space. Lisa E. Freed,Robert Langer, Ivan Martin, Neal R. Pellis, and Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 94, pp. 13885­13890, December 1997.

Weaving cartilage at zero g: the reality of tissue engineering in space. W. Mark Saltzman. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 94, pp. 13380­13382, December 1997. (Commentary accompanying the above article.)