Task Book Introduction for FY1998

The NASA Life Sciences Division serves the Nation’s life sciences community by managing all aspects of U.S. space-related life sciences research and technology development. The activities of the Division are integral components of the Nation’s overall biological sciences and biomedical research efforts. NASA’s life sciences activities are unique in that space flight affords the opportunity to study and characterize basic biological mechanisms in ways not possible on Earth. By utilizing access to space as a research tool, NASA advances fundamental knowledge of the way in which weightlessness, radiation, and other aspects of the space flight environment interact with biological processes. This knowledge is applied to procedures and technologies that enable humans to live in and explore space and contributes to the health and well-being of people on Earth.

The Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA) is responsible for planning and executing research stimulated by the Agency’s broad scientific goals. OLMSA’s Life Sciences Division is responsible for guiding and focusing a comprehensive program of flight and ground-based projects. This document, the Life Sciences Program Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1998 (October 1997 – September 1998), includes all peer reviewed projects funded by the Division during FY1998. In addition, internal research conducted at the NASA centers is included in the report.

Research projects are divided into three programs (Advanced Human Support Technologies, Biomedical Research and Countermeasures, Gravitational Biology and Ecology). Included within these categories are the Graduate Student Research Program, the NASA Space Biology Research Institute, the NASA Specialized Centers on Research and Technology, and a number of Internal NASA research projects.

This document is published annually and made available to the public both as a printed document and as an interactive Internet web site (http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_u/code_u.cfm). The on-line Task Book offers the option of searching all tasks by principal investigator’s name, project title, keyword, Life Sciences Division classifications (i.e., program, element), scientific discipline, and flight information (where applicable). The information provided in the Task Book is used in reports to the NASA Associate Administrator, the Office of Management and Budget, and to the United States Congress.

The Life Sciences Division wishes to thank all the investigators and their assistants for providing updates, and Information Dynamics, Inc. and the Universities Space Research Association personnel (Jennie Moehlmann, John Nelson, Bill Wilcox) for developing the database and coordinating this effort. Gratitude is also expressed to the following people who were responsible for coordinating information from NASA field centers: Alison French and Amy Chu (Ames Research Center), Elisa Allen, Bonnie Meadows, Sharon Jackson, Helen Lane, Jesse Contreras, and Judy Robinson (Johnson Space Center), Elise Blaese, Bridget Higginbotham, David Chapman, and Kim Webster (Kennedy Space Center), and Susan Copeland and David Watson (NASA Space Biology Research Institute).