thing often move around up in strange locations . Your favourite pair of sunglass in the dog ’s bottom , for exercise , or your paint in the laundry basket , and peradventure even the origins of Alzheimer ’s in space . Of of course , we ’re not speak about look the population for response , but rather a series ofexperimentsthat are about to commence on the International Space Station . It is hoped that by sympathise how this disease originates , scientists may in the end reckon out a way to heal or foreclose it .
Alzheimer ’s disease(AD ) is the most common conformation of dementia , affectingmore than 35 million people worldwide , a bit predict to double every 20 years . Every four seconds , someone is name with this incurable degenerative disease , making it a serious major public health concern as the world-wide population continues to geezerhood .
These aggregate seem to be toxic to brain cells and disruptive of normal cellular functioning , suggesting they may play a role in the pathology of Alzheimer ’s , but no one acknowledge what causes them to develop . Part of the difficulty in studying how these proteins gather and self - aggregate into fibers is that back on Earth , they run togrow very slowlyand only to an highly small size , limited by the fact that they matter themselves down and settle down in the cup of tea .
These issue are how scientist came up with their recent enquiry solution : canvass them in space . Aboard the ISS , the microgravity environment should allow the fibers to develop quicker and significantly larger than they can in ground - base labs because they will not be restricted by their own weight . Furthermore , weightlessless may allow the fibers to grow as they would of course in the body , which could render insight into how the proteins step by step make layer upon layer and nose themselves into microscopical threads .
The investigation will take place inside a tiny4 - inch square block , constructed at the Florida Institute of Technology , which was sent up to the ISS back in January as part of the SpaceX CRS-5 ’s resupply mission . This is one of eight projects select in an ISS research challenger host by Space Florida and NanoRocks . After the experiment has be given , the sample distribution will be recall back to Earth for analysis with an atomic personnel microscope . If it proves to be successful , follow - up enquiry will be conducted to find out more about fiber growth and possible prevention strategies .
“ We ’ve got to empathize why some people get these condition and others do n’t , ” task scientist Dan Woodard tell in astatement . “ There have to be chemical or processes that hinder or encourage the growing of protein fibers . It may be something as mere as temperature or salt density of the fluid in the brain . ”
