[sarex] Crabs Give Blood for Space Travel

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Crabs Give Blood for Space Travel
11.16.2006

Soon, astronauts onboard the ISS will test a high-tech medical device 
that uses primitive enzymes from horseshoe crabs to diagnose human illness.

Nov. 16, 2006: Picture this: You're on a mission to Mars, halfway there 
from Earth, and you're not feeling well. Your throat hurts when you 
swallow, your forehead is hot. You don't want to get sick or infect your 
crewmates. Should you take an antibiotic? If so, which kind?

With a new biological laboratory on a chip being developed at NASA's 
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in partnership with 
outside researchers, you may be able to get the answer in as little as 
five minutes.

The mini-lab goes by the maxi-acronym LOCAD-PTS, which stands for 
Lab-On-a-Chip Application Development–Portable Test System. The latest 
version is a handheld device slated for launch this December aboard 
shuttle mission STS-116 for testing on the International Space Station.

FOR THE REST OF THE STORY GO TO:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/16nov_locad.htm?list833780