Space-Grown Crystals May Lead to More Efficient Drug Development

The International Space

Station is a perfect environment for

creating protein crystal structures for research.

In microgravity, protein molecules

form more orderly, high-quality crystals. Studying these structures helps

scientists understand their function and contributes to development of more

effective treatments for diseases.

Experiments often need more than

one try to generate ideal crystals, though. Researchers may have to return

samples to Earth for analysis and then try again on a later mission on the

space station.

Scientists are testing new methods

of growing crystals that allow crew members to observe imperfections, make

real-time adjustments, and try growing them again right away. This dramatically

reduces the time and cost of conducting experiments aboard the space station

and opens up the orbiting lab to more users. More efficient use of time and

resources can produce research results in less time and lead to development of

better drugs sooner.

Learn more @ISS_Research!