Microgravity

Over a billion of mostly third world people are infected with a roundworm known as ascarids. Ascarids are tiny parasites that infect the intestinal tract of vertebrates. Movement of the larvae into the brain or other parts of the body can prove fatal. Space-based research is providing new hope in combating these parasitic worms. Ascarids are dependent upon a substance known as malic enzyme to regulate certain bodily functions. A new drug designed to interfere with normal functioning of malic enzyme should prove deadly to ascarids. The Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, along with the University of North Texas grew malic enzyme crystals on the USML-1 Spacelab mission. Although these crystals proved to be smaller than ground based ones, they were more perfectly formed, therefore producing better data for drug design.