Life Sciences

Health science experts in the space industry conduct research and provide clinical support. Researchers study the effects of zero gravity on the human body and other living organisms. How will they adapt to life in microgravity? What are the health side effects? These important questions require answers for future long-term space missions. Clinical support encompasses everything that involves the health and safety of astronauts in space. Researchers also attempt to answer such questions as how a medical emergency in space is to be handled.

Therefore, a number of sciences are critical in the advancement of scientific knowledge in this field. Here are a few examples.

Microbiologists conduct research on micro-organisms (viruses, fungi, bacteria, etc) to contain the spread of harmful micro-organisms or determine how they can apply their findings, particularly in medicine (new drugs) and agriculture (feed yeast). Conducting experiments in microgravity is interesting to microbiologists, as new discoveries that would never have been made on Earth could be made in this environment. Experiments on cells and plants have already been conducted and have allowed us to understand certain changes observed in humans in space.

Does microbiology interest you? Here are a few specialties...

• Bacteriology, the study of bacteria
• Cellular biology, the study of cells
• Molecular biology, the study of molecules
• Genetics, the study of genes and heredity
• Pharmacology, the study of pharmaceuticals and their use.

A protein crystallization experiment that looks
at how the immune system operates, led by Louis
Delbaere of the University of Saskatchewan in 1992.

Kinesiologists contribute to keeping astronauts healthy by ensuring individual follow up to assess their health and lifestyle. They advise astronauts and prepare a physical fitness plan for them that includes specific exercises to help them deal with the effects of gravity, such as the loss of bone density. Kinesiologists may also conduct research on physical activity and health.

Nutritionists educate people on food choices, based on nutrition principles, and promote a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating. They may assess eating behaviour and work out a personal menu that takes into account nutritional value and food quality. In the space industry, research is conducted to determine whether a typically Canadian food item can be eaten in space. A number of criteria are considered when evaluating foods, including shelf life, storability, and nutritional value. Astronauts from all the countries participating in the International Space Station program can thus share their cuisine with their fellow astronauts.

Profile
	Name: Natalie Hirsh Education: Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology Occupation: Kinesiologist Workplace: Canadian Space Agency, Longueuil, QC
Natalie has always been a physical fitness and sports enthusiast. It's this passion that led her to kinesiology. She obtained her bachelor's at Simon Fraser University and was fortunate enough to learn about the Canadian Space Agency's Operational Space Medicine Group while doing an internship at the Agency. Following the internship, she was chosen to work on the small operational space medicine team. "This group consists of only five people at the CSA, but we have assembled a group of experts from private industry and research centres who support us," Natalie says. Natalie's job consists of ensuring that astronauts remain healthy and fit while in space. She also monitors any problems during the trip and tries to find solutions, if necessary. When the astronauts return to Earth, they go through a readjustment period because they don't use their muscles very much in zero gravity conditions. Natalie believes that space medicine is a growing field because, with the International Space Station, space voyages will be increasingly longer. Natalie's advice: You have to like learning because it is imperative that our knowledge be kept up to date.

Physicians monitor the health of astronauts. They are involved in planning training programs for astronauts preparing for a mission and monitoring their health in orbit. They oversee testing and the development of specific flight equipment that will be used for the astronauts' well-being, such as the antigravity suit, which helps reduce the effects of space motion sickness. Therefore, they must work with scientists and engineers.

Doctors also assess the findings of experiments conducted on astronauts during space missions. Since the human body reacts in many different ways to zero gravity conditions, astronauts undergo a medical exam on returning to Earth and are re-examined a few days later.

Does medicine interest you? You could be...

A laboratory medicine specialist who studies the course of an illness in humans. For example, neurologists focus their studies on illnesses and dysfunctions that affect the nervous system, and cardiologists look at heart disease and problems related to blood circulation. Immunologists study the immune system and hematologists study blood. There is a specialist for each function of the human body, and researchers in these fields can conduct research in microgravity to advance scientific knowledge in their field and find new treatments.

Profile
	Name: Douglas Watt Education: Physician, Neurologist Occupation: Professor and Researcher, Life Sciences in Space Workplace: McGill University, Montréal, QC
Since 1976, Dr Watt has been looking at how the human nervous system reacts in zero gravity conditions. He has led 15 medical experiments during 11 space shuttle missions. He is now a professor at McGill University and continues his research in space motion sickness. Why medical science? I've always been curious about how things work, and understanding how the brain works is the ultimate challenge. Douglas's advice: Without science and mathematics, space flights would still be only a dream!

Psychologists in orbit behaviour conduct experiments and study human behaviour in space. Zero gravity conditions cause a number of changes in the human body, including disorientation, loss of balance, backache, blood flow to the upper part of the body causing headaches, etc. How do astronauts react to these effects? Psychologists also study the behavioural effects of long-term missions, high-stress conditions during the voyage and lack of space in manned space vehicles.

Telemedicine is an example of a discipline that links a number of industry professionals. Telemedicine is possible thanks to telecommunications technologies developed by engineers and scientists. Computer technologies and medicine also play a key role. The use of telemedicine in the event of an emergency in space is currently being studied at the Canadian Space Agency. This situation in space would be similar to a medical emergency in Canada's North: the victim can be brought to a major centre within two days. An astronaut on the Interational Space Station with a medical problem could also be returned to Earth within two days. What happens in the event of an emergency where time is of the essence? With telemedicine, a specialist could be contacted to instruct the flight physician on what to do to save the life of the astronaut.

Telemedicine requires cooperation among people in many fields, as well as among aerospace industries across the country. Proponents include Newfoundland's Collaborative Network Technologies and Memorial University, whose Faculty of Medicine has a telemedicine and education centre, Telesat Canada in Gloucester, Ontario and Futureworks in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Space-based Telemedicine: Enhancing health care for remote communities

Canada is the second largest country in the world, and this means that many of its smallest communities can find themselves isolated. When it comes to medical treatment, this sometimes proves hazardous. But satellites are coming to the rescue.

Space-based telecommunications technologies are rapidly changing the practice of medicine. Telemedicine takes advantage of advanced telecommunications satellites to deliver high-speed data, imaging, voice and Internet, linking medical practitioners and their patients in remote communities with the latest medical advice provided by specialists working in medical institutions in larger urban centres.

These innovative and leading edge applications are helping deliver health care in a number of new ways. Digital information stored on central computers is being shared with many remote locations. Videoconferences are linking physicians and bringing together specialists and experts from a variety of locations to consult data and images and develop a range of treatment options, resulting in better health care for patients living far from urban medical institutions. The use of this new technology represents a quantum leap in the delivery of quality health care to remote communities such as Labrador.

Taken from Apogee, the Canadian Space Agency electronic newsletter, 
November/December 2001