Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Salon I
Start Date
29-4-1999 1:00 PM
Description
On Earth, the origin and evolution of life has been influenced by constant exposure to a gravitational field. An ever-present epigenetic (extrinsic) force of one gravitational unit (1g) affects the morphology, development, physiology, and behavior of living organisms; the extent and diversity of adaptations to this force underscore its importance as an environmental factor1,2. Changes in the gravitational environment often have drastic and pleiotropic consequences, and have been described empirically for numerous organisms ranging from humans and mice to snails and plants, and even bacteria3,4. We must be able to compensate for these changes before we can plan any long-term space flight, including the mission to Mars. However, compensation has as its prerequisite understanding. Elucidation of the cellular, subcellular, and molecular mechanisms responsible for the plethora of descriptive findings of microgravity- or spaceflight- related changes is necessary.
Paper Session III-B - Development of Biomolecular Techniques for the Analysis of Gravity Sensing Mechanisms in Space Flight Specimens: Applications in Biomedicine and Gravitational Biology
Radisson Resort at the Port, Convention Center, Salon I
On Earth, the origin and evolution of life has been influenced by constant exposure to a gravitational field. An ever-present epigenetic (extrinsic) force of one gravitational unit (1g) affects the morphology, development, physiology, and behavior of living organisms; the extent and diversity of adaptations to this force underscore its importance as an environmental factor1,2. Changes in the gravitational environment often have drastic and pleiotropic consequences, and have been described empirically for numerous organisms ranging from humans and mice to snails and plants, and even bacteria3,4. We must be able to compensate for these changes before we can plan any long-term space flight, including the mission to Mars. However, compensation has as its prerequisite understanding. Elucidation of the cellular, subcellular, and molecular mechanisms responsible for the plethora of descriptive findings of microgravity- or spaceflight- related changes is necessary.
