Construction of the international space station, scheduled to start in late 1998, ushers in a new era for laboratory sciences in space. This is especially true for space life sciences, which include not only the use of low gravity as an experimental parameter to study fundamental biological processes but also the study of the serious physiological changes that occur in astronauts as they remain in space for increasingly longer missions. This book addresses both of these aspects and provides a comprehensive review of ground-based and space research in eleven disciplines, ranging from bone physiology to plant biology. It also offers detailed, prioritized recommendations for research during the next decade, which are expected to have a considerable impact on the direction of NASA's research program. The volume is also a valuable reference tool for space and life scientists.

Construction of the international space station, scheduled to start in late 1998, ushers in a new era for laboratory sciences in space. This is especially true for space life sciences, which include not only the use of low gravity as an experimental parameter to study fundamental biological processes but also the study of the serious physiological changes that occur in astronauts as they remain in space for increasingly longer missions. This book addresses both of these aspects and provides a comprehensive review of ground-based and space research in eleven disciplines, ranging from bone physiology to plant biology. It also offers detailed, prioritized recommendations for research during the next decade, which are expected to have a considerable impact on the direction of NASA's research program. The volume is also a valuable reference tool for space and life scientists.

Construction of the international space station, scheduled to start in late 1998, ushers in a new era for laboratory sciences in space. This is especially true for space life sciences, which include not only the use of low gravity as an experimental parameter to study fundamental biological processes but also the study of the serious physiological changes that occur in astronauts as they remain in space for increasingly longer missions. This book addresses both of these aspects and provides a comprehensive review of ground-based and space research in eleven disciplines, ranging from bone physiology to plant biology. It also offers detailed, prioritized recommendations for research during the next decade, which are expected to have a considerable impact on the direction of NASA's research program. The volume is also a valuable reference tool for space and life scientists.

The 1998 Committee on Space Biology and Medicine (CSBM) report A Strategy for Research in Space Biology and Medicine in the New Century assessed the known and potential effects of spaceflight on biological systems in general and on human physiology, behavior, and performance in particular, and recommended directions for research sponsored over the next decade by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The present follow-up report reviews specifically the overall content of the biomedical research programs supported by NASA in order to assess the extent to which current programs are consistent with recommendations of the Strategy report for biomedical research activities. In general, NASA programs concerned with fundamental gravitational biology are not considered here. The committee also notes that this report does not include an evaluation of NASA's response to the Strategy report, which had only recently been released at the initiation of this study. Review of NASA's Biomedical Research Program summarizes the committee's findings from its review of (1) NASA's biomedical research and (2) programmatic issues described in the Strategy report that are relevant to NASA's ability to implement research recommendations.