Engineering Support of Microgravity Life Science Research: Development of an Avian Development Facility
The Avian Development Facility (ADF) is designed to provide a 'window' for the study of embryogenesis in space. It allows researchers to determine and then to mitigate or nullify the forces of altered gravity upon embryos when leaving and re-entering the Earth's gravity. The ADF design will allow investigations to begin their incubation after their experiments have achieved orbit, and shut down the experiment and fix specimens before leaving orbit. In effect, the ADF makes every attempt to minimize launch and re-entry effects in order to isolate and preserve the effects of the experimental variable(s) of the space environment.
Avian biotechnology instrumentation as a mechanism for understanding human dysfunction in space
Gravitational biologists are recognizing the advantages and convenience the avian egg offers, as a biological model for examining developmental dysfunctions under microgravity conditions. The avian egg is a self-contained, individual development package with its own life-support system, requiring no additional food, water, or waste-removal systems. Since there is no dependence on a maternal host, embryos are unaffected by maternal responses to the microgravity environment. In addition, selected embryos can he manipulated without jeopardizing other members of .I the clutch, making selective collection of avian specimens in microgravity far easier than with most species. Thus, the avian model offers many research opportunities that can be structured for understanding human diseases, as well as those problems associated with adaptation to the weightless environment of space.
On the role of gravity and positional information in embryological axis formation and tissue compartmentalization
The idea that gravity affects dorso-ventral polarization in anouran development contrasts with the theories of self-organization through reaction-diffusion processes. As a result of a literature study we discuss the role of gravity in embryological axis formation and speculate on an influence of gravity on tissue compartmentalization. The involvement of compartmentalization in tissue homeostasis is discussed in the light of the recent progress in mammalian cell culture studies.