Station Science Top News: April 21, 2023
Researchers examining Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) found brain response differences in cosmonauts compared to a ground control group. TMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used to treat some neuropsychiatric disorders. The electric stimulation elicited intense activity in motor and language areas of the left hemisphere in cosmonauts with some differences observed between preflight and postflight testing. The technique could be customized to treat neurocognitive risks associated with spaceflight and help facilitate task performance during long-duration missions.
Brain-DTI, an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, conducts advanced MRI scans on crew members before and after spaceflight to study any changes in their brain structure. In this paper, researchers indicate that TMS could reveal biomarkers of brain adaptation to spaceflight and that non-invasive brain stimulation could be a useful tool for future space exploration.
Read more here.
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High-resolution images of an aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) mixed metal on the International Space Station revealed more dendrite fragments in samples where dendrites have different orientations than in those where they are aligned. Fragments affect the microstructure of materials, and this work advances the understanding of conditions for their formation. Reducing dendrite misorientation could reduce fragmentation and improve casting and other solidification processes to produce lightweight, high-performance materials for use in industry.
ESA’s CETSOL examines physical principles that govern solidification of metal alloys. The transition from liquid to solid creates patterns of crystals that include tree-like, branched forms called dendrites. Dendrite fragmentation, the detachment of secondary and tertiary branches, is an important phenomenon in the formation of metal alloys. The observation of fragments was possible in the absence of gravity because they did not move far from their place of detachment.
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The ISS Program supported three outreach efforts in Colorado last week with astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Jessica Watkins on their post-mission tour:
- April 11 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, attended by about 250 people from the general public
- April 12 at Colorado State University, with an estimated 150 people attending
- April 13 at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, attended by roughly 200 people, mostly second graders from two local Title 1 schools. There, Lindgren shared the team’s short science highlight video and gave a presentation on what it is like to be a scientist: asking questions and testing hypotheses.