ISS Space-Grown Crystals Could Be Key to Understanding Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease affects over five million people. Research on the International Space Station  could provide insight into the chronic neurodegenerative disease, to help scientists find ways to treat and prevent it. The investigation involves growing protein crystals of Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). People with Parkinson’s disease experience increased function of LLRK2. Growing LRRK2 crystals on Earth is difficult, and does not produce samples with high enough quality for researchers to determine the protein’s shape and structure. In space, protein crystals grow larger and more uniformly.

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00:00:00 [MUSIC] WELCOME TO EXPEDITION 57 ONBOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TODAY WE'RE DOING SOME REALLY COOL SCIENCE THIS IS ALEX GERST OVER HERE WITH ME AND WE ARE WORKING ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS A SPECIAL PROTEIN KINASE OR PROTEIN CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND THE REASON SCIENTISTS HAVE SENT IT UP HERE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE

00:00:18 STATION IS BECAUSE THESE PROTEIN CRYSTALS TEND TO GROW LARGER AND HAVE MUCH BETTER QUALITY PARKINSON'S IS A DISEASE THAT AFFECTS OVER 5 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE AND SCIENTISTS ARE CONSTANTLY SEARCHING FOR A CURE AND WHAT WE DISCOVERED WAS THAT HERE IN THE MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT THESE CRYSTALS REALLY LIKE TO GROW SO IF SCIENTISTS CAN BETTER ELUCIDATE OR CLARIFY THE

00:00:37 STRUCTURE THEN THEY'RE BETTER ABLE TO DEVELOP AN INHIBITOR DRUG FOR PARKINSON'S AND NOT ONLY AN INHIBITOR DRUG BUT INHIBITOR DRUG WITH VERY FEW SIDE EFFECTS SO WHAT ALEX IS DOING HERE TODAY IS HE'S OBVIOUSLY WORKING ON THE WALLS WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE HERE IN MICROGRAVITY AND HE IS HE'S GOT A MICROSCOPE ABOVE HIM AND HE'S GOT A PLATE THAT HE FILLED WITH THE SPECIAL

00:00:58 PROTEIN CRYSTAL STRUCTURE JUST A FEW DAYS AGO GAVE TIME FOR THOSE STRUCTURES TO CRYSTALLIZE AND NOW HE'S EXAMINING THEM UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AND HE'S ACTUALLY INTERACTING REAL-TIME WITH THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR ON THE GROUND TO LOOK AT THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIGHTING AND THE CLARITY AND THEN ALSO TAKE PICTURES WHICH WILL THEN BE SENT BACK DOWN TO THE GROUND SO HERE

00:01:20 ON BOARD EXPEDITION 57 WE'RE VERY PROUD TO BE TAKING PART IN THIS EXPERIMENT I THINK IN THE PAST FEW YEARS SCIENTISTS HAVE REALIZED THAT THE MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT IS SUCH A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT TO GROW THINGS LIKE CELLS OR PROTEIN CRYSTALS AND IT PROVIDES A NEW WAY TO HELP US LOOK AT DISEASES IN A BETTER WAY TO HELP US DEVELOP NEW MEDICATIONS FOR THESE DISEASES AND SO WE'RE HAPPY TO BE

00:01:41 TAKING PART IN THE SCIENCE HERE [MUSIC]