During the past several years there has been a shortage of flight opportunities for biological and medical projects. And those that were available usually had severe restrictions on instrumentation, number of subjects, duration, time allotted for performing the experiments, a possibility for repetition of experiments. It is our hope and expectation that this will change once the international Space Station is in full operation. The advantages of a permanent space station, already demonstrated by the Russian Mir station, are continuous availability of expert crew and a wide range of equipment, possibility of long-term experiments where this is waranted, increased numbers of subjects through larger laboratory space, proper controls in the large 1-G centrifuge, easier repeatability of experiments when needed. The limited number of flight opportunities during recent years probably explains why it has taken so long to acquire a sufficient number of high quality contributions for this seventh volume of Advances in Space Biology and Medicine. While initially the series wassailed at annually appearing volumes, we are now down to a biannual appearance. Hopefully, it will be possible to return to annual volumes in the future when results from space station experimentation at beginning to pour in. The first three chapters of this volume deal with muscle. Fejtek and Wassersug provide a survey of all studies on muscle of rodents flown in space, and include an interesting demography of this aspect of space research. Riley reviews our current knowledge of the effects of long-term spaceflight and re-entry on skeletal muscle, and considers the questions still to be answered before we can be satisfied that long-term space missions, such as on the space station, can be safely undertaken. Stein reviews our understanding of the nutritional and hormonal aspects of muscle loss in spaceflight, and concludes that the protein loss in space could be deleterious to health during flight and after return. Strollo summarizes our understanding of the major endocrine systems on the ground, then considers what we know about their functioning in space, concluding that there is much to be learned about the changes taking place during spaceflight. The many problems of providing life support (oxygen regeneration and food supply) during extended stay on the Moon, on Mars, or in space by means of plant cultivation are discussed by Salisbury. The challenges of utilizing electrophoresis in microgravity for the separation of cells and proteins are illustrated and explained by Bauer and colleagues. Finally, the chapter on teaching of space life sciences by Schmitt shows that this field of science has come of age, but also that its multidisciplinary character poses interesting challenges to teaching it.

The advent of the International Space Station ISS and the exploration by humans of planets of the Solar system like the Moon and Mars is triggering worldwide interest. Space biology, a discipline familiar so far only to a restricted community, is gaining momentum. Space biologists are dealing with the behavior of terrestrial life in the extraterrestrial environment, in particular in 0 g. Several surprising and interesting phenomena have been discovered in 20 years of investigations in space laboratories. This began with so called "fishing" experiments, i.e. investigations trying to find out, without solid hypotheses, whether a biological system is altering its behavior when exposed to zero gravity. Today's space biology is a scientific discipline based on systematic studies carried out by renowned scientists. Some of the leaders in the field describe their work, ideas and findings. This book will introduce the reader to this still young field of research which will certainly provide unexpected and significant surprises in the future.

Volume II in the Space Biology and Medicine series, Life Support and Habitability addresses major issues and requirements for safe habitability and work beyond the Earths atmosphere. It is composed of two parts: The Spacecraft Environment and Life Support Systems. As in the first volume, the authors are specialists in their fields in the United States and Russian Federation. The book is intended for a widespread audience. In particular, it will appeal to students majoring in biomedical and technical subjects who intend to specialize in space science, engineers developing life support systems, and physicians and scientists formulating medical specifications for habitability conditions onboard spacecraft and monitoring compliance with them. There are more than 285 figures and tables and 1100 references.

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.

In this first volume in the Space Biology and Medicine series, contributors describe the current status of their understanding of space, highlighting physical and ecological conditions as well as heavenly bodies, and provide general information that will prove useful in the later volumes. The book is divided into four parts: Part I, Historical Perspective; Part II, The Space Environment; Part III, Life in the Universe; and Part IV, Space Exploration. Chapter contributions were made by both U.S. and Russian authors. The book also features an appendix of Astronomical and Physical Quantities, a detailed subject index, and an 8-page color section.