#engineering – BioQuakes

Dr. Ellen Ochoa is one of most important women in NASA’s history, winning many awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, NASA’s highest award. As a child, the Mexican-American never thought to become an astronaut, as it wasn’t presented as a job women could have. In college, Ochoa considered majoring in music as she is a talented classically trained flutist work but after taking taking various STEM based courses she decided on Physics. After college, Ochoa was unsure of what to do next ultimately deciding to attend Stanford University due to her mother’s constant emphasis on the importance of education. At Stanford, she earned a master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering and began her research on the subject of optics, which involves studying the characteristics and interactions of light.

Ochoa playing her beloved flute while on a mission

Whilst at Stanford, Ochoa got to see Sally Ride (a fellow physics major and Stanford graduate) become the first female astronaut at NASA and that inspired her to apply to be an astronaut after graduating. Ochoa flew her first mission in 1993, making her the first Latina in space as well as NASA’s first hispanic female astronaut. She went on to fly 3 other missions, logging almost 1,000 hours in space. Whilst in space, Ochoa conducted studies on the Sun’s effect on the Earth’s atmosphere and climate, deploying multiple satellites. After directing the Johnson Space Center for years she has retired now serving on the boards of several influential scientific organizations.

Dr. Ochoa’s official NASA astronaut portrait

Ochoa’s research took place largely at Stanford as well as at NASA’s Sandia National Laboratory. There she began to develop complex optical analysis systems, which helped to give a more accurate quality of light interactions and can make conclusions about what they are “seeing”. She also developed “optical, computerized recordings and models of events and phenomena in space.” This helped NASA better understand the depths of space as well as led the way for optical systems to be used for automated space exploration. Ochoa was granted patents for optical devices including a system that “inspects objects, a system that identifies and can “recognize” objects, and a system that minimizes distortion (noise) in the images taken of an object.” After conducting this research she moved on to NASA’s Ames Research Center where she surprised 35 fellow scientists working on designing computer systems to be used in space missions. It was this research that got her accepted into the astronaut program where she served as a mission specialist and flight engineer. Ochoa also participated in some research that measured the size of the ozone layer in space helping to reveal the extent of damage from chlorofluorocarbons. This research has helped lead to the phasing out of these dangerous chemicals and these efforts are finally showing positive results.

Today Dr. Ochoa works to inspire others with her story advocating for further involvement of women and people of color in STEM as well as the importance of a quality education. Dr. Ochoa one of my personal idols, showing that not only women, but Latinos deserve a place in scientific history and that with brains and hard work, there are endless possibilities.

Ever dream about being a real life Captain America? Well, with the help of microbes, we are one step closer to achieving a “super soldier.” Microbes might not make a soldier muscular, but they can help with soldiers’ health and versatility. Scientist Jeff Tabor is working on engineering a probiotic organism that can help humans easily fight diseases, prevent obesity, and change their body’s ability to adapt to certain environments.

The gut bacteria affects many functions of the human body. The digestive system, immune system, and nervous system are all influenced by gut bacteria. Disrupting these microorganisms can cause indigestion, a weak immune system, depression, insomnia, and affect other cognitive abilities. Tabor’s goal is simply to create a microbe that can be consumed to prevent these problems.

Gut Microbe

Initially, Tabor wanted to use these microbes to target obesity because scientists have abundant knowledge of obesity at the molecular level. He recently succeeded in genetically modifying E.Coli to detect chemicals in the body that carry disease in mice guts. He hopes to use this modified E.Coli to sense chemicals in the gut that are connected to obesity and then use other molecules to prevent this obesity. The creation of a microbe that can control weight can be extremely helpful for the U.S. armed forces. For example, soldiers going from sea level to the top of a mountain way above sea level experience changes in temperature and pressure. Using this engineered gut microbe, the soldiers can put on weight to help them keep warm on top of the mountain and then lose weight to keep cool at sea level.

Another military benefit that these microbes can provide is to help soldiers operate effectively on little to no sleep or to help soldiers adapt to changes in their circadian rhythms, either from time change or going below sea level in a submarine. Scientists are interested in experimenting with the gut microbe to be able to achieve these goals in the future.

Some people might be afraid of the possible affects that these genetically modified bacteria might have on the human body. However, Tabor’s goal is for the bacteria to stay in the gut for about six hours to do its job and then self-destruct or die naturally to prevent the bacteria for staying in the body too long. There are other concerning issues about creating a microbe that can help prevent obesity. The creation would take away any incentive for humans to eat healthy and focus on their diets because they could just use the microbe to prevent gaining weight. Any new scientific experiment comes with its pros and cons, but using gut microbes for human health, especially for the military, can be a big step in the right direction.

Source Article

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: #engineering

The First Latina in Space- Dr. Ellen Ochoa

Have No Fear, Gut Microbes Are Here!

Archives