Welcome to Our Blog
Thank you for visiting our website. We are a relatively small lab with big ideas. We are part of a much larger group of investigators known collectively as the LLUMC Molecular Radiation Biology Laboratories. It is our hope that this website will educate, communicate, and incite scientific debate. As the PI of our little group, I hope to post our data and discuss potential mechanisms, consequences, and countermeasures. With a bit of luck we'll all learn something. The links to the left include our merry band as well as collaborating investigators and laboratories. The links to the right include our archive and blogroll. The banner above will always bring you back to the main page page. Take a look around and please feel free to leave a comment on our blog (try to keep it civil and constructive) or shoot us an e-mail. - Michael " Ubertramp " Pecaut
Lab Update
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2009.07.06
Categories & Tags: Brookhaven National Laboratory,Gamma Radiation,Grant,Grant Proposal,Microgravity,New Publication
Comments: None
I seem to have a distinct lack of content, don’t I? Which is sad because quite a few things have been going on lately.
Most importantly, Farnaz graduated. Yeah, team! Her oral defense went well, despite her butterflies and the committee was impressed. She’s off studying for her MCAT over the summer, but she promises me that she’ll come back in the fall and convert two chapters of her dissertation into two manuscripts. She better because she put a ton of work into those studies and dataz must be published! Heh. She was also awarded a travel grant for the upcoming Radiation Research Meeting in Savannah, Georgia. In fact, they selected her abstract for an oral presentation so they must have thought she did something worth hearing. Read More..
Lab Update
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2009.04.12
Categories & Tags: Gamma Radiation,Grant,Low Dose Radiation,Microgravity,NASA,New Publication,Protons,Radiation,Space Shuttle,T cell
Comments: None
It’s been a couple of months since the last update, so it’s about time. We have some good news and some bad news. The bad news first. My NASA grant was turned down for funding. I haven’t seen the review yet, so I’m not sure why. Nor do I know who or what actually DID get funded. Guess we’ll have to see.
Ironically (or coincidentally, I haven’t decided which), we received the acceptance letter from JAP for our third immune publication from the last shuttle flight on the same day. The reviewers were pretty rough on us, though. It bounced back and forth three times before they finally accepted it. Farnaz was pretty excited as this was her first publication. Woot! Now all she has to do is finish her dissertation and graduate. Hahaha. It’s still an Epub ahead of print, so I don’t have a reprint. Give it a few weeks. Read More..
Lab Update
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2009.02.10
Categories & Tags: Department of Energy,Grant Proposal,High-Energy Iron Radiation,Immunity,Microgravity,Mouse,NASA,NIH,New Publication,Radiation,Space Shuttle
Comments: None
Well, I’ve been on and off vacation for the last month or so. But a lot has been going on since my last update.
First, the bad news. Both NIH and DOE have turned down my grant proposals. I will probably try to resubmit the NIH grant this summer once I figure out how to address some of the reviewer concerns. I gotta keep remembering that being a scientist requires a thick skin and a short memory when it comes to rejection. Good thing I’m showing signs of early onset Alzheimer’s. Hah!
I still haven’t heard back from NASA regarding my Mice In Space proposal. I’m not sure what is holding it up. My guess is the recent economic issues have made spaceflight an even more difficult prospect than usual. Plus, they may be trying to work out a way to blend two or more proposals together. Given the lack of funds for science in general, this is probably harder than it sounds.
We also haven’t heard from LLU regarding our NMTB grant proposal. Seems LLU got a lot more proposals than they expected and they are having a harder time deciding who gets what. They may also be debating cutting the funding cap in order to fund more individual projects. I have no idea.
On to the good news. Read More..
CU to Fly Shuttle Experiments to ISS
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.06.03
Categories & Tags: BioServe Space Technologies,Current Events,International Space Station,Microgravity,Space Shuttle,University of Colorado
Comments: None
It looks like my old lab at CU, BioServe Space Technologies, has just signed an agreement with NASA to fly experiments on all of the remaining shuttle missions to the International Space Station. Congratulations!
I’m not sure what they are planning for experiments except that they will likely be biological in nature. They’ve flown on dozens of flights so far with experiments ranging from plant physiology to bacterial resistance to antibiotics to full-blown mouse and rat experiments. I was lucky enough to be involved with experiments in each of those categories while I was there. You’d be amazed by what they can do with a test tube.
“Studies suggest space flight can result in the suppression of the immune system of both humans and animals, and previous studies have shown microgravity can alter growth rates, virulence, drug resistance and gene expression in microorganisms like salmonella,” said Stefanie Countryman, BioServe business manager and coordinator of education outreach.
Hmmm. I wonder if they’ll be looking for a bioengineer who knows a little about immunity and radiation. Psssst. Louis, have your people call my people.
Thanks to Sam & Angela Smith for the heads up.
When a busted toilet could be a major catastrophe…
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.05.29
Categories & Tags: Astronaut Health,Bacteria,Current Events,Immunity,International Space Station,Microgravity,Radiation
Comments: 3
Most of you have probably heard by now that the toilet in the Russian-built Zvezda module of the International Space Station is on the fritz. Solid waste is ok. Liquid waste ain’t. Basically, the vacuum pump doesn’t suck when it’s supposed to due to a “‘fabrication flaw’ in the toilet’s compressor units.”
NASA says they have worked out a way to keep things running up there until the Space Shuttle Discovery arrives with replacement parts…which may or may not fix the problem permanently. And by running, I mean, it requires half an hour and two astronauts to make sure everything is rinsed, decontaminated, and flushed properly.
On Earth, that’s a relatively minor problem. In orbit, it can be a serious problem, but fixable. In open space, it could be a major disaster. And here’s why.
