UBC professor of pharmaceutical sciences Dr. Corey Nislow is sending cultures of yeast and algae into space, in a pod not much bigger than a shoebox, to study the effects of cosmic rays and near-zero gravity on living organisms. When the spacecraft returns after its 42-day orbit around the Moon, Dr. Nislow will get his samples back, along with the information they contain. In this Q&A, he explains what NASA’s work could mean for medical advances on Earth and in space.
What exactly are you sending into space and why?
We chose to study Chlamydomonas reinhardtii—a single-celled green alga—and 6,000 mutant yeasts. They will grow for up to seven generations as Orion (the spacecraft used for the Artemis mission) completes its journey to the far side of the Moon. Yeast is a good model for human cells as its genes are somewhat similar to human genes, while C. reinhardtii was chosen because it is a model for plants and a valuable source of food, molecular oxygen and hydrogen for fuel.
What happens when you get the samples back?
We will study genetic changes induced by space exposure, using our UBC lab’s database of 10 million gene-drug interactions and information derived from 20 years of studying these organisms. The information we get can help design better treatments for future space travelers and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. For example, we aim to learn whether the yeast genome-wide signature in response to cosmic radiation resembles that observed by cells exposed to DNA-damaging anticancer drugs. Our preliminary evidence suggests the answer is yes. In doing so the Artemis mission will give us important clues on how to develop countermeasures to combat radiation damage to both yeast and crew DNA—as well as ways to minimize the side effects of different chemotherapies.
What else should we know about this experiment?
For the first time in 50 years, biological materials will leave low Earth orbit, face exposure to cosmic radiation, and then be returned to our laboratory for detailed molecular analysis. We will bring modern biotechnology to the unique environment of cosmic radiation combined with microgravity. The upcoming Artemis 1 flight is a test flight for a future lunar mission that will return humans to the Moon. It will set the stage for larger explorations—NASA has announced a goal to go to Mars with astronauts in the 2030s or soon after. To be part of such a historic project is an incredible opportunity. Interview Languages: English (Nislow and Dr. Hamid Kian Gaikani), Farsi (Gaikani)
