{"id":19270,"date":"2016-08-30T01:31:16","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T17:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/dna-sequenced-in-space-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2016-08-30T01:31:16","modified_gmt":"2016-08-29T17:31:16","slug":"dna-sequenced-in-space-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/dna-sequenced-in-space-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA sequenced in space for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_270629\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-270629\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-270629\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160829-rubins-dna-sequencing-630x419.jpg\" alt=\"Kate Rubins with DNA sequencer\" width=\"630\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160829-rubins-dna-sequencing-630x419.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160829-rubins-dna-sequencing-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160829-rubins-dna-sequencing.jpg 1232w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-270629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA astronaut Kate Rubins sequenced DNA using the MiniON device at lower right. (Credit: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NASA biologist-astronaut Kate Rubins performed the first DNA sequencing experiment in space over the weekend, using a miniaturized device that was delivered&nbsp;to the International Space Station&nbsp;just last month.<\/p>\n<p>The palm-sized MiniON DNA sequencer, built by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, could eventually open the way for full-fledged experiments studying how space radiation might scramble the&nbsp;genes of earthly organisms. This time around, the experiment was aimed merely at finding out whether the device worked.<\/p>\n<p>Rubins used the MiniON sequencer&nbsp;to analyze prepared DNA samples from a mouse, bacteria and a virus. The same analysis was done with&nbsp;equipment down on the ground, with the aim of reading out and&nbsp;matching up&nbsp;the chemical letters of genetic code \u2013 that is, adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome? In today\u2019s status update, NASA reported that the experiment demonstrated for the first time that DNA sequencing could indeed be done in an orbiting spacecraft. That wasn\u2019t a sure thing. Some researchers worried that air bubbles could have gummed up the works in zero-G.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn space, if an air bubble is introduced, we don\u2019t know how it will behave,\u201d said Aaron Burton, a NASA planetary scientist and principal investigator for the Biomolecule Sequencer investigation. \u201cOur biggest concern is that it could block the nanopores.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"ScienceCasts: Sequencing DNA in Space\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XWdkZhYqMgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As the experiment proceeds, Burton and his colleagues will be checking the DNA data for any sign that the effects of spaceflight could introduce errors. If all goes well, the astronauts will proceed with the entire process of DNA sampling, preparation and sequencing in space.<\/p>\n<p>Previous studies have shown that some pathogens, such as Salmonella bacteria, become more virulent in space. What\u2019s more, space station astronauts have had to weather occasional problems with space mold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnboard sequencing makes it possible for the crew to know what is in their environment at any time,\u201d NASA microbiologist Sarah Castro-Wallace said. \u201cThat allows us on the ground to take appropriate action \u2013 do we need to clean this up right away, or will taking antibiotics help or not? We can resupply the station with disinfectants and antibiotics now, but once crews move beyond the station\u2019s low Earth orbit, we need to know when to save those precious resources and when to use them.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other experiments are already looking into whether gene expression changes in zero-G, and&nbsp;whether genetic changes that occur in space affect human health. Having a DNA sequencer in orbit will help with such studies&nbsp;\u2013 and it almost goes without saying that any search for life on Mars will require DNA analysis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome to systems biology in space,\u201d Rubins, a molecular biologist who specializes in infectious diseases, told Mission Control after starting the sequencing. She passed along her thanks to the ground team, then added that \u201cit is very exciting to be with you guys together at the dawn of genomics biology and systems biology in space.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA astronaut Kate Rubins sequenced DNA using the MiniON device at lower right. (Credit: NASA) NASA biologist-astronaut Kate Rubins performed the first DNA sequencing experiment in space over the weekend, using a miniaturized device that was delivered&nbsp;to the International Space Station&nbsp;just last month. The palm-sized MiniON DNA sequencer, built by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, could eventually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4520,5031,717],"class_list":["post-19270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-dna","tag-genetics","tag-international-space-station"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}