Chat with Jeff Smith
January 13, l998 at 10:00 a.m.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 4 - 09:51:47 ]
Good morning, We will be starting our chat here momentarily. If you have read Jeff's bio, you know that his expertise lies in research and technology development at the Biocomputation Center. I look forward to a great time of finding out how that ties in to the Neurolab project. Stand by, Jeff will be joining us soon!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 5 - 10:01:43 ]
Hi all, Jeff is now here and ready for your questions.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 11 - 10:07:14 ]
RE: [Luis-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] Dr. Smith: Because you want to study the development of animals are you sending up cricket, fish and snail eggs and pregnant female rats? or do you expect them to reproduce in space?
The Neurolab team of scientists (including me) are very interested in reproduction in space, as are many other scientists around the world. However, the Neurolab set of experiments focuses more on adaptations during development and in mature people and animals. So, we don't plan to have the crickets and fish reproducing in space. Hopefully, those experiments will come later.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 12 - 10:08:10 ]
RE: [Luis-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] why not send a monkey?
I would love to suggest that you save this question for our January 22 chat with Mary Williams who is from the Animal Care Facility here at NASA Ames Research Center. She'll have great insights on this.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 13 - 10:09:02 ]
RE: [Francesca-Francesca/FloodSchool] Hi Jeff, How fast can the 3D imaging work when doctors use this in surgery? Do they use it the whole time they are performing surgery or just to get a look at the beginning of an operation?
Right now we're using the 3D imaging technologies to help doctors plan their surgeries. The process takes about 30 minutes to complete (pretty fast by today's standards). We hope in a few years to have the technology ready for use in the operating room.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 15 - 10:11:15 ]
RE: [Luis-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] why not send a monkey?
Monkeys would be a great animal system to study the effects of weightlessness on the brain. Unfortunately, the Neurolab mission doesn't have any space to house monkeys. They take up a lot more space and require more care than crickets, fish and rats.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 17 - 10:13:46 ]
RE: [Barbara-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] Does this mean eggs and pregnant female rats will be on the shuttle?
You can find a lot of information about the development stage that Neurolab will be studying in the web page describing the Mammalian Development Team. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/background/MDT.html

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 18 - 10:14:22 ]
RE: [Barbara-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] Does this mean eggs and pregnant female rats will be on the shuttle?
Actually, there will be juvenile rats and adult rats, housed separately. Pregnant rats have been flown in space previously, but there are no plans to have pregnant rats in space for Neurolab.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 21 - 10:17:53 ]
RE: [Francesca-Francesca/FloodSchool] What kinds of operations would they use your 3D software for?
Right now we're using 3D reconstruction software to plan reconstructive surgery of the face and skull. One recent patient had a cancer tumor removed from under his left cheek--he lost his eye and a good portion of the bone in his cheek. The surgeons used our 3D "virtual surgery" system to cut a virtual piece of bone out of the boy's hip and place it in the right spot in his face. With the virtual surgery they were able to find the right place in the hip to cut a piece of bone that would be a perfect match in the face.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 23 - 10:20:52 ]
RE: [Richard-AndersonElemSchool] Do you have any goals for the future, personally or professionally? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Sure, I have lots of goals. Professionally, I plan to continue as a NASA scientist. I will propose cell biology experiments for the Space Shuttle and the Space Station (of course I'd like to be the one to do the experiments in space, but I trust the astronauts to do a good job if I can't go). Personally, I'd like to learn to scuba dive--maybe next summer.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 24 - 10:22:14 ]
RE: [Francesca-Francesca/FloodSchool] Why is this better than using MRI imaging or CAT scans that they use now?
The MRI and CAT images are what we start with. Then we make the 3D reconstructions which surgeons can use to perform the "virtual surgery."

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 26 - 10:24:42 ]
RE: [Luis-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] How can you get the oxygen bubbles out of the fish tank in space? We assume it must be totally full of water and sealed. Are you going to use some kind of a cellophane tube or membrane into which the oxygen is pumped?
You're almost right. Getting bubbles separated from liquids is a BIG problem in space. Without gravity the two don't separate. Current systems pump the water through a tube outside the tank. the water passes over a porous plate. The gas bubbles penetrate the plate but the fluids pass over. That's how the two are separated in space.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 27 - 10:29:25 ]
RE: [Richard-AndersonElemSchool] Jeff, I read that you think it's important for us to explore space. Why? How do you think your involvement in space exploration can help people on Earth?
Hi Richard, I think space exploration is very important. One example of how studies in space have lead to new advances here on earth is the 3D imaging technologies we've developed at the Biocomputation Center. We developed 3D imaging systems for studying the nervous system in space, but now surgeons use it here on earth to plan and prepare for surgeries. Space exploration drives people to the very limits of their abilities, forcing them to find new ways to live, work, and learn in environments away from the earth. New technologies as well as new information are the most important benefits we get here on earth from the exploration of space.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 31 - 10:35:30 ]
RE: [Joey-Joey/HomeSchooled] My dad recently under went knee surgery, he had a piece of his iliac crest placed in his knee. Will 3D"virtual surgery be used in this type of surgery soon?
I hope so Joey. We're concentrating our work on surgery of the face and skull right now, but knees and wrists are some of the most accident prone parts of the body. You're dad's knee surgery sounds a bit like the facial surgery I described to Francesca, a piece of bone from the hip used to replace a piece missing from somewhere else. There is a group from Stanford University who want to work with us to do virtual surgery of the wrist. When someone comes to us about the knee, I'm sure we'll give them all the help we can.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 32 - 10:40:00 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] What did your mom do or say to encourage you? I'm 11, and interested in science, aeronautics, astronomy, math and other things.
Hi Alex. My mom encouraged me in lots of ways. Guess what, she still encourages me today! It's kind of funny, I think the very best encouragement my mom ever gave me wasn't related to science at all. When I went to Jr. High and in High school I took French. I was TERRIBLE at it--but mom helped me through. We worked together at home, she drilled me in English and I had to think of the French. Best of all, she wouldn't let me give up (I really did want to learn French) and she showed me--through the drills--how to teach myself. I used that same technique--drills--all through college to learn everything from biochemistry, to nuclear physics.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 36 - 10:43:10 ]
RE: [Cristian-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] How can you grow plants in space? how can you keep the dirt from floating all over the place?
Good question Cristian. Much of the time we don't actually use dirt to grow our plants. We use agar, which looks a lot like cloudy jello. The jello-like agar doesn't float around and it retains water too. But dirt has been used in some experiments. In those cases the dirt is usually enclosed in a little plastic pack. A little hole is poked in the top and a small seedling is planted so its shoot will grow out the top and its roots will grow into the root pack.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 37 - 10:45:07 ]
RE: [Griselda-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] How many crickets will go into space? How many fish? How many rats? How many snails?
I'm sorry Griselda, there are over 20 of us on the team of Neurolab scientists. I don't know exactly how many crickets and fish, but there will be about 15 adult rats.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 39 - 10:48:14 ]
RE: [Cristian-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool] How can you grow plants in space? how can you keep the dirt from floating all over the place?
If you're interested in more information on this, take a look at the SMORE project online that dealt with a mission in which plants were the subject. You'll find it at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/smore In that project we challenged students to design a way to take plants into space (much like our Great Habitat debate on this project) and then a NASA expert gave us some good information on what was actually done.

[ Alex-Alex/homeschool - 40 - 10:48:18 ]
Joey, How did you get your Scuba Diving certificate? Do you live by the ocean? How old are you?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 41 - 10:49:34 ]
This is probably a good time to start wrapping up, so that we can give Jeff a chance to answer the rest of your questions.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 42 - 10:49:45 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] What kind of nuclear physics did you study? Did it have anything to do with the atom bomb?
Well, Alex, atom bombs are a small part of nuclear physics. I spent most of my time learning what happens inside the atomic nucleus when, say, radioactive Uranium decays and gives off an alpha particle (the nucleus of a Helium atom) and a gamma ray. It's all about energy. The nucleus of an atom is a HUGE reservoir of energy. You can use it to build an atomic bomb, or you can use it in nuclear power plants to create electricity with very little waste.

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 43 - 10:52:38 ]
RE: [Joey-Joey/HomeSchooled] Jeff, I recently received my certification for Scuba Diving it is a great experience . I know you will enjoy it. What does happen to animal waste products in outer space.
That's a jump Joey, from scuba diving to animal waste in space. Let's talk about rats, because they make the biggest mess. The cages are equipped with a ventilation system that constantly passes air from top to bottom over the rats and out the bottom of the cage. Urine and feces are swept, by the air currents, through the floor grate and into a trap that absorbs both moisture and the fecal matter.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 44 - 10:54:05 ]
Any more quick questions for Jeff?

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 45 - 10:54:36 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] Joey, How did you get your Scuba Diving certificate? Do you live by the ocean? How old are you?
Sorry Alex, you'll have to ask Joey how he got his scuba certificate. I don't have one yet, but I do live near San Francisco which is on the Ocean. Actually, NASA has a scuba diving club where I can find some friends who also want to get involved. Then we'll all take a class in a swimming pool and eventually go out for a dive in the ocean.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 46 - 10:55:38 ]
I personally want to thank Jeff for joining us today and giving us information on such a broad range of subjects! Wow! Thank you all for joining us.

[ Griselda-Theresa/MontgomeryHighSchool - 47 - 10:56:53 ]
Will every animal experiment also require a cage for a control group of animals who will be in artificial gravity?

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 48 - 10:58:31 ]
Bye everyone, I hope you all had a chance to ask some questions. If you didn't get all the answers you were looking for, there's more on Neurolab at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/background/mission.html and there's more about the Biocomputation Center at http://biocomp.arc.nasa.gov/ take care,

[ Joey-Joey/HomeSchooled - 49 - 10:59:02 ]
Alex, I got my certification from Dr. Watson, a professor at Tennessee Tech. University and I earned a college credit hour, for the class. No, I don't live near the ocean, I took my diving instructions at the YMCA pool, then went to Fl. to do my dives. I am 14.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 50 - 10:59:46 ]
Thanks again Jeff. Bye all!

[ Jeff/NASABiocomputation - 51 - 11:01:24 ]
One last answer for you Griselda. There will be control groups for all the tests--some of the animal control groups like the rats will be carried out on Earth in 1-g. But the crickets (you'll have to check me on this) I believe have a small in-flight centrifuge that spins the control group at 1-g (artificial gravity).

[ Alex/homeschool - 52 - 11:09:10 ]
Bye Everyone!