Solar cells, which have powered space systems, are now being used as a
power source in studies on brain function. A miniaturized solar cell
developed by General Electric provides enough power, under ordinary
house lights, to stimulate an animal’s brain and to telemeter
respiratory, cardiovascular, and brain-wave data while the animal is
allowed to move about freely. Such a system is now used by the National
Institute of Mental Health Laboratory at Rethesda, Md.
Scientists at the Ames Research Center have devised a new technique for
studying organic compounds, whether synthesized in the laboratory or
produced by a living system. This technique is based on a property of
matter called optical activity. Previous methods of measuring optical
activity have been plagued by low sensitivity. The new method is many
tunes more sensitive and represents a real contribution to modern
analytical instrumentation.
Studies on calcium metabolism and bed rest simulating weightlessness are
adding knowledge on the prevention of demineralization of the skeleton;
treatment of Paget’s disease and osteoporosis prevention of muscular
atrophy; the cause and treatment of renal calculi (kidney stones);
optimal calcium for the human diet; and the factors influencing calcium
absorption, metabolism, and excretion. The results will have great
importance in bone healing and repair, care and treatment of fracture
cases, treatment of paraplegics, and treatment of polio patients and
similar cases. These grant studies at Texas Woman’s University have also
proven that the X-ray bone densitometry method can accurately detect
changes in the skeleton.
A primary objective of the planetary exploration program is the
detection of possible extraterrestrial life. The study of the
fundamental properties of living things on Earth is restricted to the
type of life which has evolved and survived here. Life which has been
exposed to totally different environmental conditions may have markedly
different physiological characteristics. The impact of the new
information obtainable from the study of extraterrestrial life upon the
sciences of medicine and biology will unquestionably be of fundamental
and far-reaching importance. Advancement in the treatment of disease and
the problems of aging are among the many possible consequences.
New developments in such techniques as ultraviolet spectrophotometry,
polarimetry, and gas chromatography will find use in the detection of
biochemicals and other compounds in hospitals and in toxicology and
pathology laboratories. They will also be useful in studies of
atmospheric pollutants such as smog.
Studies of the chemistry of living systems, molecular biology, and
biophysics of cellular processes will create a better understanding of
the basic mechanisms of life, leading to an understanding of both
inherited and acquired disease, especially neoplastic conditions and
chemical disturbances incident to mental disease.
The University of Pittsburgh is conducting a study to increase the
availability of cytological technique in research and as a monitoring
procedure by developing an automatic electronic scanning device using
computer analysis for recording, counting, and sorting chromosomes.
Structural changes in blood cell chromosomes can indicate the degree of
radiation damage as well as damage resulting from various environmental
stresses. Accordingly, this instrument, when developed, can be used as a
radiation dosimeter in civil defense by swiftly detecting the degree and
type of chromosomal aberrations in blood cells. Thus, casualties in
nuclear attack could be quickly detected and treated. This system would
also be useful for nuclear industrial plants and for military maneuvers.
In medicine, various disease trends could be monitored. (Chromosomes
exhibit anomalies in leukemia and mental retardation as well as in other
states.) In space exploration and experimentation, the device can spot
monitor radiation dose levels as well as changes resulting from any of
the environmental stresses experienced in space. This apparatus can be
modified for use as an extraterrestrial-life-detecting instrument by
scanning the growth of cells (or cellular inclusions), computing rates,
and telemetering changes to the researcher.
Investigations of rhythmic phenomena of various physiological systems
can result in knowledge of the utmost importance to medicine. Rhythmic
phenomena are found in the cardiovascular system of normal humans.
Changes in these rhythms have the potential of foretelling abnormalities
(heart disease, arteriosclerosis) before outward signs are manifested,
allowing for earlier diagnosis, treatment, and control or cure.
The spacecraft sterilization program requires the use of rooms having
the lowest attainable level of bacterial contamination. The rate of
dissemination of bacteria from the humans in the room is basic to the
problem. Data on this matter are being obtained through support of the
Communicable Disease Center of the U.S. Public Health Service. The
findings are affecting the measures used in surgical practice to lower
infection rates.
Studies on the physiology of hibernation in mammals are important to
understand temperature regulation and the mechanism of survival at low
body temperatures. The purpose of this type of research is to understand
and use reduced metabolic activity in astronauts on future extended
space flight. Other applications involve studies of the mechanisms of
injury and freezing biological organisms, for improving techniques in
hypothermic surgery, pathology, and preservation of tissue for human
grafting.