First Virus-Hunter In Space Will Test DNA-Decoding Device
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first virus-hunter in space is all set to conduct some cosmic, new DNA research.
"We're really interested in how this works in microgravity. It's never been done before," she said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, four days after arriving at the International Space Station.
She said the benefits of DNA sequencing in space are huge. She noted it also could prove useful in remote locations on Earth.
The device will arrive at the orbiting lab on the next SpaceX delivery. Liftoff is scheduled for early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral.
Trained as a professional virus-hunter, Rubins traveled to Congo for her research before becoming an astronaut in 2009. She wore top-level biosafety suits for her work with Ebola, smallpox and other deadly viruses on Earth, but won't need such extreme precautions when she fires up the device in space.
At the space station, Rubins will be working with harmless test samples: bacteria, a virus and a mouse genome.
"We've got a lot of safety folks on the ground making sure that nothing dangerous gets on board," said the first-time space flier.
A DNA sequencer reveals the order of chemical building blocks along a stretch of DNA. That sequence contains the hereditary information that's passed from one generation of organisms to the next. Among other things, that can be useful to identify and study viruses.
"Altogether, it's an extremely exciting research package and a great capability on board station," Rubins said.
Researchers will better understand bone loss and microbial changes in space, Rubins noted, thanks to this new research.
"But it also actually has a benefit for the Earth-based research as well," she said. "When we do things in a remote environment up here, we can understand how these technologies might work in remote places on Earth that don't have access to good medical care."
NASA is interested in another potential application: the detection of life. Officials acknowledge more development would be needed for that capability at Mars and elsewhere.
The miniaturized biomolecule sequencer, called MinION by its maker in England, is less than 4 inches long and just 4 ounces including a USB cable. It hooks up to a laptop or electronic tablet.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies is the company behind the experiment.
Rubins arrived at the space station on Saturday, along with a Russian and Japanese, for a four-month stay. They launched from Kazakhstan on a Russian rocket.
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