That press release was a little low on details, and the following statements seem to be conflicting: I found another article from CBC which mentions how the kids came up with this hypothesis. Also...
That press release was a little low on details, and the following statements seem to be conflicting:
the epinephrine sent into space returned only 87% pure
In fact, no epinephrine was found in the ‘after’ EpiPen solution samples
I found another article from CBC which mentions how the kids came up with this hypothesis. Also note that this news is from 2023 (not that the physics of space or epipens have changed in the past year). It doesn't clear up the 87% vs. "no epinephrine" problem, but it has some interesting tidbits.
I agree that it was unclear. The way I interpreted it was that they sent up samples of pure epinephrine, as well as samples of the literal fluid from an epipen, which, presumably, is mixed with...
I agree that it was unclear. The way I interpreted it was that they sent up samples of pure epinephrine, as well as samples of the literal fluid from an epipen, which, presumably, is mixed with some other, possibly inert, ingredients. So then the pure sample came back only 87% pure, and the epipen sample came back with no detectable epinephrine. I could absolutely be wrong in my interpretation, though.
The title is "Useless in space? uOttawa helps elementary students make startling discovery about EpiPens " which feels a little bit click-baity, but it's a cool story about access to science from...
The title is "Useless in space? uOttawa helps elementary students make startling discovery about EpiPens " which feels a little bit click-baity, but it's a cool story about access to science from NASA's "Cubes in Space" programme.
That is really interesting! Not only is this a big concern for our pharmaceuticals, but I wonder with growing different kinds of plants in space if this might impact their metabolites in some way...
That is really interesting! Not only is this a big concern for our pharmaceuticals, but I wonder with growing different kinds of plants in space if this might impact their metabolites in some way that could make it dangerous for human consumption.
From a physical chemistry standpoint, it’s unlikely (but not impossible) we’d see changes in the reactions of ordinary biological processes due to lack of gravity, because the force of gravity on...
From a physical chemistry standpoint, it’s unlikely (but not impossible) we’d see changes in the reactions of ordinary biological processes due to lack of gravity, because the force of gravity on molecules in a cytosolic solution is many magnitudes smaller than electromagnetic forces at that scale.
IMO the most likely cause of unexpected toxicity would be a direct stress response as a byproduct of ionizing radiation. Another mechanism would be some mechanical feedback loop in the plant’s growth breaking, leading to disordered metabolism as a result of unnatural growth patterns.
Didn’t know about it until I went looking just now (thanks for the impetus 😉), but there’s some pretty cool research in this vein:
Oh yeah I should've been more clear that I was thinking more on radiation and not gravity! My first instinct when I read the headline was "Wait because of reduced gravity?!" and it confused my...
Oh yeah I should've been more clear that I was thinking more on radiation and not gravity! My first instinct when I read the headline was "Wait because of reduced gravity?!" and it confused my understanding of chemistry. But then I realized there's a crap ton more radiation in space and that was the likely culprit, which seems to be the hypothesis of the NASA scientists. Thank you for sharing the wiki articles - I didn't realize there were mutants that lost their gravity-sensing organelles!
That press release was a little low on details, and the following statements seem to be conflicting:
I found another article from CBC which mentions how the kids came up with this hypothesis. Also note that this news is from 2023 (not that the physics of space or epipens have changed in the past year). It doesn't clear up the 87% vs. "no epinephrine" problem, but it has some interesting tidbits.
I agree that it was unclear. The way I interpreted it was that they sent up samples of pure epinephrine, as well as samples of the literal fluid from an epipen, which, presumably, is mixed with some other, possibly inert, ingredients. So then the pure sample came back only 87% pure, and the epipen sample came back with no detectable epinephrine. I could absolutely be wrong in my interpretation, though.
The title is "Useless in space? uOttawa helps elementary students make startling discovery about EpiPens " which feels a little bit click-baity, but it's a cool story about access to science from NASA's "Cubes in Space" programme.
That is really interesting! Not only is this a big concern for our pharmaceuticals, but I wonder with growing different kinds of plants in space if this might impact their metabolites in some way that could make it dangerous for human consumption.
From a physical chemistry standpoint, it’s unlikely (but not impossible) we’d see changes in the reactions of ordinary biological processes due to lack of gravity, because the force of gravity on molecules in a cytosolic solution is many magnitudes smaller than electromagnetic forces at that scale.
IMO the most likely cause of unexpected toxicity would be a direct stress response as a byproduct of ionizing radiation. Another mechanism would be some mechanical feedback loop in the plant’s growth breaking, leading to disordered metabolism as a result of unnatural growth patterns.
Didn’t know about it until I went looking just now (thanks for the impetus 😉), but there’s some pretty cool research in this vein:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobotany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyloplast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitropism
Oh yeah I should've been more clear that I was thinking more on radiation and not gravity! My first instinct when I read the headline was "Wait because of reduced gravity?!" and it confused my understanding of chemistry. But then I realized there's a crap ton more radiation in space and that was the likely culprit, which seems to be the hypothesis of the NASA scientists. Thank you for sharing the wiki articles - I didn't realize there were mutants that lost their gravity-sensing organelles!