CASIS Announces Significant ISS News But Forgets To Mention NASA
Michael J. Fox Foundation and CASIS Announce Partnership to Grow Key Parkinson’s Protein on International Space Station
“The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) today announce a partnership to send a key Parkinson’s protein to the International Space Station for growth under microgravity conditions. Microgravity may allow bigger, more regular LRRK2 protein crystals to grow, which helps solve the protein’s structure. That information could help scientists design optimized therapies against LRRK2, a key target in the pursuit of a Parkinson’s cure.”
LRRK2
“Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), also known as dardarin (from the Basque word “dardara” which means trembling), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PARK8 gene. LRRK2 is a member of the leucine-rich repeat kinase family. Variants of this gene are associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease and also Crohn’s disease.”
Keith’s note: Very cool news which demonstrates the true potential for the ISS to host cutting edge research with the potential for real benefits back on Earth. Oddly, “NASA” is mentioned nowhere in this press release – you know, the agency that built and operates the ISS – and provides 99.99% of CASIS’ income. You have to wonder if the PR people at CASIS even bother to think about how to best inform the public of what they are doing. Even if CASIS is trying to distance itself from NASA, anyone with an ounce of Internet savvy would know that “NASA” is a search term that would heighten the visibility of this press release as it is posted elsewhere on the Internet. Again – this is significant news and CASIS should be congratulated for pulling it off. I’m just not sure they have a full grasp of the responsibility that they have been given by NASA.
Very cool! And yes.
You don’t consider the ISS pretty much synonymous for NASA?
Huh? How many people outside of the space community say “ISS”? Compare that to the brand awareness of “NASA”.
Although I have discovered some dilution of the NASA brand. Curtesy of Google’s clipping service and Wikipedia, “The National Super Alliance, known by the abbreviation NASA, is a Kenyan political coalition that was formed in January 2017..” But, yes, only a tiny fraction of people would do any sort of search for “ISS” rather than “space station.”
It would be interesting to know the percentage of the US public that knows there is a “space station”, or that knows what an “ISS” is, or that could differentiate between an ISS, or a Mir or a Skylab. My guess is that the percentages are quite low, maybe 10-15%. You have to remember that something like 10% of Americans think the moon landings were faked, and more than 50% of Britons. And of the remainder, many believe astronauts still routinely travel to the Moon, and some think they go to Mars. No new funding and no new programs are required.
Serious question:
Does mentioning NASA in the release trigger a painful & time-consuming legal review of the content by NASA, something NASA typically insists on with its contractors/partners?
(Not criticizing anyone here… it could just be a matter of the time delay, or something else.)
In any case: Kudos to CASIS and… “Alex P. Keaton”.
At the just completed ISS R&D, a couple payload developers said, in response to questions at the end of their talks, that they avoid any kind of interaction with NASA ISS program and people. They work through CASIS and Nanoracks. Their reasons were that NASA had too many people, most of whom had no answers, and if they went to more than one they’d get more than one answer. One developer said ‘all NASA does is slow him down.’ He added that he reduced a 3 inch stack of required NASA payload documentation down to about a 1/4 inch of pertinent and useful content.