Chat with Louis Ostrach
November 19, l997 - 10:00 a.m.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 2 - 09:31:18 ]
RE: [casey/northeast] HI I am Casey Howe and I want to talk to you
Hi Casey, We'll be ready to start here in about 30 minutes. The room is not really opened yet for posting. See you then!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 4 - 09:48:30 ]
RE: [Duncan/Lockmart] Hi Linda and Louis, I'm on.
Hi Duncan, Guess it's time to get this open so folks can begin to let us know they're out there! We'll begin the chat in about 10 more minutes.

[ Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy - 5 - 09:54:30 ]
Hi Linda, We're here from Cub Creek Academy. My students are 5th and 7th grade. I read some of the past chats from the archives and the discussion seems to be somewhat advanced. We'll try to keep up.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 6 - 09:54:54 ]
Do feel free to let us know when you are online. Don't forget that you won't see anything new if you don't refresh screen periodically!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 8 - 09:56:05 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] I'll be here in about 10 minutes with a group of 6 5th graders.
Terrific! Welcome Larry.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 10 - 10:01:15 ]
Hello, Louis is now online and ready for your questions.

[ Louis/ARC - 14 - 10:05:28 ]
RE: [Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy] What are you specifically studying about the brain in space?
There are two main areas that will be studied on Neurolab: 1) does the development of the brain and spinal cord proceed normally without gravity? 2) how does the adult brain adapt to and/or compensate for the absence of gravity?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 17 - 10:08:55 ]
RE: [Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy] Sorry....We're from Connelly Springs, North Carolina. Too small to be on the map. Look for Morganton.
Welcome Sharon. Thanks for identifying yourself. Do you have any other questions?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 19 - 10:14:22 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] We are interested in the research done about babies "in utero". We are curious about how this can be done. We also are wondering if a newborn baby could handle space.
Welcome back Larry and class - Where to you hale from?

[ Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary - 21 - 10:15:47 ]
We are from Verona, WI.

[ Louis/ARC - 20 - 10:15:35 ]
RE: [Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy] What kinds of experments are you doing to test the brain without gravity?
There are 15 scientists each with their own specific experiments but many of them will be sharing the specimens and the results. Some of the experiments are behavioral - for example, how does a young rat learn to walk in space compared to learning this task on the ground? For this experiment, a jungle gym has been built and the young rats will be video taped as they walk and climb. They will be filmed on two or three days during the mission so that their development of these motor skills can be measured. Similar data will be collected from a duplicate jungle gym on the ground and so a direct comparison can be made. In another group of rats, a transmitter inside each rat will send information about their body temperature and heart rate so that changes in the daily cycle of these measurements can tell the scientists how the animals are adapting to space. And there are quite a few more experiments as well, with crickets, with fish, snails, and with the astronauts themselves.

[ Louis/ARC - 22 - 10:18:11 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] We are interested in the research done about babies "in utero". We are curious about how this can be done. We also are wondering if a newborn baby could handle space.
On the Neurolab Mission, there is only one "in utero" experiment - with mice. This study involves the injection of a marker that will label the embryonic cells that are in the process of duplicating their DNA just before cell division. In this way, the cells' "birthdays" can be identified and compared with similar data obtained from animals on the ground to determine if gravity plays a role in normal development of brain cells.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 23 - 10:20:47 ]
Great questions. As you can see it take a little time to type in answers, so you can send your next one while Louis is working on them if you wish.

[ Louis/ARC - 25 - 10:22:31 ]
Some of the experiments study newborn rats and you are right to ask how these young animals will handle the space environment. As you know, rat babies are very helpless and immature at birth - that's why the scientists like to study them because many of the events that occur after birth in the rat are exactly the same as those which occur in humans "in utero." Anyways, we do not yet have a habitat which can support very young rats but we have a habitat that will allow a mother and her litter to be launched when the babies are 8 days old. The brain is still quite immature at this age and so the animals will provide much data about brain development that is applicable to humans.

[ Louis/ARC - 26 - 10:24:16 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] How can you label cells in a baby mouse before they are born?
If you inject a chemical into the mother mouse, it is taken up into her blood stream and passes the placenta into the mouse embryos. Then it enters the embryos' blood streams and can be taken up by the embryonic cells.

[ Louis/ARC - 28 - 10:32:48 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] We are curious about human senses in space. Does your sense of smell amplify or decrease in space.
You know, there is information on this question but I just don't know the answer. I do know that the shift of fluids towards the upper body and head tends to clog the sinuses and cause swelling of the face. We'll try to get an answer specifically about smell and post it on the website for you.

[ Louis/ARC - 31 - 10:45:44 ]
RE: [Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy] How will you be testing the human astronauts? Will you have some sort of EEG equipment? Also, How do you test crickets? What do the tests tell you?
The human experiments are also quite varied - yes, they will be using EEG equipment to measure brain waves during sleep. There will also be tests of perception using a Virtual Environment Generator and a ball catching device. Other experiments will measure nerve function with small electrodes placed in a nerve in the leg and there will also be measurements made of daily changes in body temperature (circadian rhythms). The crickets won't actually be tested on-orbit. Crickets have a sensory appendage at the base of their abdomen which is sensitive to gravity and which can regenerate if it is lost or damaged. The cricket experiment will be studying both the normal development of this gravity sensing organ and its regeneration in space (one of the organs will be removed before launch). Then when the crickets are returned to the scientist after the mission, he will study the animals' behavior and the actual function of the nerves inside the organ to compare with animals raised on the ground. The results will tell us information about whether gravity is necessary for the normal development of these sensory organs.

[ Louis/ARC - 32 - 10:48:18 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Is more or less of the brain activity used for people or animals in space?
I'm not exactly sure what you mean - there are 13 scientists studying the humans and 15 studying the animals on this mission. The available time on the mission is split fairly between the groups so that the crew will have enough time to perform all of the experiments for both groups of scientists. Does that answer your question?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 35 - 10:59:08 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Sorry our question was unclear. We mean, does your brain need to be "more active" in space than on earth? How about for animals? Also, are there some experiments we can do in our classroom using rats or crickets that would connect with the NeuroLab mission?
Larry, Let me take a stab at your question on the classroom experiments. I can place a lesson written by our STELLAR teachers (to help students understand microgravity) online at NeurOn. It involves zebra fish and fruitflies, and may very well give you a parallel experience in class. Watch for it soon at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/teachers

[ Louis/ARC - 36 - 10:59:47 ]
I see. First, there should be no differences between humans and animals on this topic - our brains work the same as any other mammalian brain and in most ways like the brains of fish and even crickets. As far as activity - there really isn't much data on this topic yet and some of the Neurolab experiments may be able to address this question. Certainly, you can imaging that the crew is quite busy and under a great deal of stress with the excitement and novelty of the experience so I can imagine that their brains are really quite active (probably the same for the animals since they've never been in space before either). I can't suggest any specific experiments but we can possibly post some additional information on the website after discussing the question with the scientists. I'd certainly suggest spending some time at the library - search for information on vestibular system, balance and equilibrium, etc. and I'm sure you'll find interesting and relevant books and articles.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 37 - 11:01:13 ]
I can't believe it's already the end of the hour. If Louis is willing, I'd love to have you receive the answers to these last questions. Thanks to the student and Louis for joining us. I think this has been a very informative session!

[ LifeSciencesOutreach-Duncan/Lockmart - 38 - 11:02:02 ]
Great Session!! Thanks for your time Louis.

[ Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary - 39 - 11:02:37 ]
Thanks very much!

[ Louis/ARC - 40 - 11:03:49 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Can you see as clearly in space? Are any of your five senses affected by being in space?
Yes, vision is not directly affected by being in space but since the eyes interact strongly with the vestibular system (balance) and is disturbed for the first few days, the crew may well not feel so well.

[ Sharon-Sharon/CubCreekAcademy - 41 - 11:04:48 ]
Louis, Thank you very much for chatting with us. I learned a lot. Good luck with you experiment! Bye.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 42 - 11:05:58 ]
Thanks again, Louis! We really appreciate your time and interest in the classroom. Bye all!