Topic: The International Space Station National Laboratory
Speakers: Matt Pokross and Christina Cuttitta
Is there really a “US National Laboratory” orbiting above that non-NASA scientists can utilize for their research? The answer is, Yes! It’s called the International Space Station National Laboratory, (ISSNL), and it’s been in operation since 2005. Join us September 11th, to hear from two scientists, Matt Pokross and Christina Cuttitta, whose experiments have traveled to the ISSNL via SpaceX Dragon over the past two years. Matt and Christina are experts in the field of structural biology – the study of biological molecules and macromolecules in 3D. Learn how challenging it is to crystallize a protein, why it’s necessary, and if successful, how it’s just the beginning of the process. The next step involves subjecting the crystals to powerful x-rays generated by synchrotron light sources, located world-wide, which are capable of producing intense beams of light more than a million times brighter than the sun! We hope you join us to hear the experience of two structural biologists working to discover new drugs mixed with a bit of space travel.
Please note, since our speakers are on the east coast, their presentation will start promptly at 7PM. Please plan to join the Zoom meeting on-time. See https://sdaa.org/program-meeting/ for Zoom registration instructions.
Read about the ISSNL here: https://www.issnationallab.org/
Read about protein crystallization here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_crystallization Read about X-ray crystallography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_crystallography#Biological_macromolecular_crystallography