From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Spacelab studies feature frog eggs and space motion sickness [Release 92-130, damaged] (Forwarded)
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 19:23:56 GMT

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.              August 13, 1992
(Phone:  202/358-0883)                         2:00 p.m. EDT

Jane Hutchison
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone:  415/604-9000)


RELEASE:  92-130

SPACELAB STUDIES FEATURE FROG EGGS AND SPACE MOTION SICKNESS


     How will frog eggs develop in the weightlessness of 
space flight?  Can astronauts learn to control the symptoms 
of space motion sickness?

     Scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain 
View, Calif., will seek answers to these and other questions 
during the next Space Shuttle flight in early September.  
Their experiments are part of the Spacelab-J mission, a 7-day 
joint space venture of the United States and Japan.

Tadpole Development in Space

     Kenneth A. Souza, Principal Investigator for the frog 
embryology experiment, said fertilized amphibian eggs -- 
unlike those of most organisms -- show an obvious response to 
gravity.  His experiment should answer a basic biological 
question:  whether gravity is essential for the normal 
fertilization of frog eggs and the early development of 7frogs.

     The frog egg is a small, 1-2 millimeter (.04 to .08 
inch) spherical cell, clearly divided into a darkly pigmented 
hemisphere and a lightly colored hemisphere rich in yolk.  On 
Earth, fertilized frog eggs always orient themselves when 
fertilized so the heavy, lightly pigmented hemisphere is at 
the "bottom" of the egg, Souza said.

     Although frog eggs were studied previously in space, 
"This is the first time we can fertilize them in space and 
watch their development through hatching," Souza said.  "The 
stage most sensitive to gravity changes and the stage at 
which the symmetry -- left, right and head-tail location -- 
of the frog is established occurs shortly after 
fertilization.  This critical stage was missed by previous 
spaceflight studies."

     Four female South African clawed frogs will be carried 
into space in a special "frog box."  Early in the mission, a 
crew member will inject the frogs with a hormone which 
stimulates them to shed their eggs.  A sperm solution will be 
added later to fertilize the eggs.

     Some of the eggs will develop under the microgravity of 
space flight. Others will develop on an onboard centrifuge 
that creates a gravity force equal to Earth's.  A video 
camera in the Shuttle will allow Souza and his collaborators 
to observe the eggs as they develop from eggs to tadpoles.

     The scientists will study the embryos and tadpoles after 
the flight to compare them with others developed on Earth.  
Dr. Muriel Ross, a neurobiologist at Ames, will study the 
development of balance organs in the inner ear.  Dr. Richard 
Wassersug of Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, will 
observe the swimming pattern and behavior of the tadpoles.  
Dr. Steven Black of Reed College, Portland, Ore., will 
compare the development of embryos grown under weightless 
conditions to those given simulated gravity on the on-board 
centrifuge.

Easing Space Motion Sickness

     Spacelab-J will offer another opportunity to look at 
alleviating the symptoms of space motion sickness.   Ames 
scientist Dr. Patricia Cowings and her colleagues will test 
the effectiveness of autogenic feedback training (AFT) in 
easing the symptons of motion sickness.  Cowings developed 
AFT -- a combination of biofeedback and autogenic therapy (a 
learned, self-regulation technique) -- at Ames.

     Cowings, who first successfully tested the technique on 
two astronauts during a Space Shuttle flight in 1985, said 
AFT has several advantages over using medication to treat 
motion sickness symptoms.

     "AFT produces relief with as little as 6 hours of 
training and it reduces the behavioral and physiological 
reactions to even the most provocative motion sickness 
stimuli," she said.  "In addition, there are no side-effects 
such as sleepiness, reduced short-term memory or blurred 
vision, as there may be with drugs."  Cowings added that AFT 
is effective in a wide range of individuals and people 
remember the training a long time.

     Over the past 19 years, Cowings has trained more than 
200 individuals, including military pilots, in autogenic 
feedback.  She observed significant improvement in motion 
tolerance in 85 percent of them.

     During the Spacelab-J mission, two crew members will 
wear special instruments to record their physiological 
 belt will record such physiological 
measurements as skin temperature, respiration rate and the 
heart's electrical currents.  One crew member is AFT-trained.  
Another, non-AFT-trained, crew member serves as a control.

     "If we're to have a permanent presence in space, we must 
know how gravity affects the development of life at theaicellular level," said Sally Schofield, Ames' payload 
scientist.  "We also must understand how people adapt to 
microgravity and find ways to ease this process.  Ames' 
experiments addr [Remainder damaged. -PEY]

				Color                   B&W
Frog Embryology Experiment       92-HC-470            92-H-525
Frog Environmental Unit          92-HC-471            92-H-526
Autogenic Feedback System        92-HC-472            92-H-527
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