Dolores Beasley October 29, 2003<br />Headquarters, Washington<br />(Phone: 202/358-1753)<br /><br /><br />John Bluck<br />Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.<br />(Phone: 650/604-5026/9000) <br /><br /><br />RELEASE: 03-341<br /><br /><br />NASA ADAPTS MINIATURE BIOLOGICAL LAB FOR USE IN SPACE<br /><br /><br /> NASA is adapting tiny laboratories embedded in compact <br />discs (CDs) to conduct biological tests aboard the <br />International Space Station and to eventually look for life on <br />other planets.<br /><br /><br />The CDs, with imbedded biological tests, are under evaluation <br />by NASA scientists, and several academic and industrial <br />partners. The miniature laboratories were adapted to detect <br />life forms and chemicals derived from life. NASA's partners <br />are Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.; Nanogen, Inc., La <br />Jolla, Calif.; and the University of California, Irvine, <br />Calif.<br /><br /><br />"This type of technology will enhance the International Space <br />Station capability as a biological laboratory with greatly <br />increased throughput and state-of-the-art techniques," said G. <br />Scott Hubbard, director of the NASA Ames Research Center <br />(ARC), Moffett Field, Calif. "Someday, this technology could <br />allow astronauts or robots to search for life on other planets <br />or moons," Hubbard said.<br /><br /><br />To process the CDs, the researchers adapted a suitcase-sized <br />prototype instrument undergoing laboratory trials at ARC. <br />There are two versions of the CDs, which are about the same <br />size as music CDs. One is plastic, similar to a standard CD, <br />and is disposable. The other is made of glass and is reusable.<br /><br /><br />"These tiny labs on CDs allow you to do thousands of tests of <br />biological samples quickly and in the field," said Michael <br />Flynn, a scientist at ARC. "On the Space Station, the types of <br />tests you would do are DNA analyses," Flynn said.<br /><br /><br />To begin a test, a scientist places a liquid sample into a <br />small opening near the center of the CD. The researcher puts <br />the disc in the prototype machine that spins the CD. <br />Centrifugal force spreads the sample fluid from the center of <br />the CD through tiny, capillary-like pipes and valves towards <br />the outer edges of the disc and several clear observation <br />areas.<br /><br /><br />During the journey, special dyes in the CD combine with the <br />sample. The dyes glow when exposed to specific proteins and <br />other chemicals, including particular portions of DNA. The <br />instrument shines a specific color light on the specimen, and <br />if it glows in another specific color, the specimen contains <br />the substance the dye was designed to detect. The CD system <br />can even sample water, and the instrument's software has image <br />analysis capability that can discriminate between cells and <br />debris. A microscope and digital camera built into the <br />prototype instrument take images of the glowing test sample in <br />the clear observation area after the disc stops spinning.<br /><br /><br />"There're already thousands of fluorescent test solutions <br />available for conducting biological tests on bacteria, <br />proteins, viruses and other life-related chemicals," Flynn <br />said. "The lab-on-a-CD system allows us to automate a process <br />that traditionally was very time-consuming and expensive."<br /><br /><br />The next step in evaluation of the prototype is to develop <br />more tests to determine how well the device works. Eventually, <br />researchers want to add a multi-disk changer to the <br />instrument, so it can test several CDs.<br /><br /><br />"We have worked with many different commercial vendors and <br />individuals to combine a variety of commercially available <br />technologies into an integrated microgravity-compatible <br />instrument," Flynn said. Potential spin-offs could be clinical <br />uses in hospitals, physicians' offices and laboratories.<br /><br /><br />NASA's Fundamental Space Biology Division, Office of <br />Biological and Physical Research (OBPR), Washington, funds <br />this research. Publication-size images are available at:<br /><br /><br />http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03images/biolabs/bi<br />olabs.html<br /><br /><br />Broadcast-quality sound files of interviews suitable for radio <br />broadcast are at:<br /><br /><br />http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/audio/biolabs/biolabs.html<br /><br /><br />More information about OBPR and space research is available <br />at:<br /><br /><br />http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/