Diseases - Blog Posts

Heya guys,

I just wanted to say that surgical masks do NOT protect against viruses and similar things. Surgical masks can not protect against the coronavirus. The N95 respirator (or similar masks) are a much better option. They filter out 95% of gunk in the air. I highly recommend that you use these masks instead.

Also, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, please PLEASE cough and sneeze into the inside of your shirts and arms! And, wash your hands often! Not doing so is a great way for infection to spread.

The cycle of infection:

(Note: image is not mine and credit goes to owner)

Stay safe and healthy! 💕

Space-Grown Crystals May Lead to More Efficient Drug Development

The International Space Station is a perfect environment for creating protein crystal structures for research.

In microgravity, protein molecules form more orderly, high-quality crystals. Studying these structures helps scientists understand their function and contributes to development of more effective treatments for diseases.

Experiments often need more than one try to generate ideal crystals, though. Researchers may have to return samples to Earth for analysis and then try again on a later mission on the space station.

Scientists are testing new methods of growing crystals that allow crew members to observe imperfections, make real-time adjustments, and try growing them again right away. This dramatically reduces the time and cost of conducting experiments aboard the space station and opens up the orbiting lab to more users. More efficient use of time and resources can produce research results in less time and lead to development of better drugs sooner.

Learn more @ISS_Research!