Astronauts Conduct AIDS Drug Research

Astronauts on the space shuttle Columbia conducted research Thursday for the battle against AIDS.

Payload specialist Lawrence DeLucas--his hands gloved and placed inside a transparent, sealed container--worked with an enzyme known as HIV reverse transcriptase, a protein compound targeted by current AIDS drugs.

The crew has at least five compounds on board related to the virus that causes AIDS and are working with more than 20 other compounds as well. They are growing crystals of the proteins during the 13-day mission to take back for study at pharmaceutical laboratories.

The proteins used in the growth experiments are in solution in compartmented syringes. When the solutions are mixed, a chemical reaction allows the fragile crystals to precipitate. The process takes days, but DeLucas said space-grown crystals are bigger and better than any grown on Earth.

“Once we see the structure, we can try designing different drugs to interact with that protein--and in some cases, inhibit it to combat disease,” DeLucas said.

The astronauts also laid plans for growth of another sort, testing a new miniature greenhouse to learn more about producing crops that could someday help sustain life in space.

Crew member Ellen Baker checked how well the instrument, called Astroculture, circulated water and nutrients in weightlessness. No plants are inside the unit.

Astronauts may grow much of their own food once they start spending months or longer in space. A trip to Mars and back, for instance, would take at least a year.

Also on Thursday, the astronauts were treated to a colorful cloud display over Puerto Rico.

A glowing green-and-purple cloud lit up the sky when barium was released from a canister aboard a small rocket launched from Puerto Rico just before sunrise.