Haveyoueverbeenweightlessorexperiencedzerogravity?Ourmacrophageshave!Thereareseveralpossibilitiestodoingresearchinweightlessness–infact,duringourlasttwoepisodesofPromoCellsinSpacewehavealreadyintroducedyoutooneofthem:soundingrockets.However,suborbitalandorbitalsflightsareinstrumentstoelucidatemid-andlong-termeffectsofmicrogravity,whereasultra-short,initialandprimaryeffectsandmechanismsareamenablebytheshort-termmicrogravityprovidedbyparabolicflightmaneuvers.Inconsequence,manandexperimentcanboardtheAirbusA-300ZERO-GinBordeaux,France.Onthisflightyoucanexperience20secondsofzero-ginfreefallnotjustonce,but31timesinarowatanaltitudeof5000meters.
ThisisexactlywhatProf.UllrichfromtheUniversityofZurichandhisteamhavebeendoingonaregularbasistohelpexpandourknowledgesurroundingastronauts’ill-healthwheninspace.Long-termmannedspaceflightsareoftenhinderedwhentheastronautbeginstosufferseveralbodilyailments.Forexampleastronautsarepronetoinfectionsandarealsoknowntosufferfromre-activationofdormantendoviruses.GravityhasbeenaconstantforcethroughoutevolutionaryhistoryonEarth.Andtherefore,itisoneofthefundamentalBIOLOGicalquestions,ifandhowlifeonEarthrequiresgravityforcomplexcellfunctions.OnProf.Ullrichsteam,theresearchersusetheparabolicflighttotakeacloserlookatimmunecellsthathavealreadybeenshowntobecompromisedbythesUSPensionofgravity (UllrichOandThielCS2012;StressChallengesandImmunityinSpace,pp187-202).
Theteamisworkingtofindouthowhumanimmunecellssenseandreacttoweightlessness.AchosencelltypetofocusonareM2macrophages.ThesecellsaregeneratedfromperipheralbloodmononuclearcellsusingPromoCell’snew MacrophageGenerationMediaDXF.
Beingweightlessisahardjobhowever!Itmeansgettingupat5.30inthemorning,preparingyourselfandthecellsfortherideofyourlife,takingadoseofdazingscopolamineagainstparabolicflightsickness,boardingtheA-300ZERO-Gandtryingnottowaisttoomuchenergybygettingnervousbeforeyouexperienceprobablythemostuniquefeelingever:weightlessness.ParabolicflightstakingofffromBordeauxareperformedatanaltitudeof5000metersandtakeplaceinwell-definedareasmainlyovertheatlanticocean.Researchersfromallovertheworldcanapplytogetthepossibilityofcollectingdatainmicrogravity.EachtimetheA-300ZERO-Gliftsoff,itcarriesseveralprojectsfromdifferentresearchfieldsonboard.IttakestwopilotstooperatetheAirbus,onecontrollingthepitchoftheairplaneandtheotherbeinginchargeofthelateralrotationcalledroll.BeforetheA-300canenterthephaseofweightlessness,ithastopullupatananglethatfinallyreaches47°.Duringthispullupthepassengersareexposedtoupto1.8g.That’squitealot!Atthattimeyoucanpersonallyexperiencewhatitislikewhencentrifugingyourcellsat200-350g...Andthen,justbeforethepeakoftheparabola,thethrustisreducedandallgoesquiet.Afteracoupleofsplitsecondsinwhichyouaskyourselfwhyyouactuallygotontothisvehicle,youstartfreefloatingandknowtheanswer:becausethisisthemostthrillingrideofyourlife!TheA-300thencrossesthepeakandstartsdescending.Actuallyitfallswithoutinterferencebytheenginesorbrakeflaps.Onephaseofweightlessnesslastsaround20secondsandthenyouaresedimenteddowntotheflooroftheaircraftbysubtleonsetofthepulloutmaneuverat1.8gagain.Atthatpointyouarehappythatyouarenotacellbeingpelletedinaconicaltube.Afterthepulloutyouget1minutetosortoutyourgutsandthenitstartsalloveragain.Stillcopingwiththesituation?
Good,thenyoucandowhatyouwereactuallyrecruitedfor,getafreshpouchofcellsoutoftheincubator,fixittothetubingofthereagentssupplyintheexperimentrack,storetheoldpouchesinthecoolingunit,secureeverythingincludingyourselfandawaitthenextbutterfliesswarminyourstomach.Ifyoustilldon’tfeelbusyenough,youcanexpandyourscopebyexchangingbrokenneedlesofthetubing,hoses,clamps,insulationsorwhateveryouareluckytodetect.Ofcourse,thisdoesn’tmeanthattheintervalbetweenparabolaswillbeextendedjustforyou.Afterfiveparabolasyoustartrealizingthatthemanpowerofotherteamsseemstobedecreasingandaftertenparabolasyoudiscoverthesickbaywithverypoorlylookingpeopleinthetailoftheplane.Verybrieflyyouthinkaboutjoiningthem.However,after12parabolasyousomehowgetusedtoit,althoughyounoticehowexhaustingthissequentialsedimentationisstartingtobe,andafter15parabolasyouactuallybeginlikingthefeelingofbeingsuperman.Andfinally,bythe30thparabolayouaresadthatthere’sonlyonemoretogo.Afterlanding,thereisstillthelabjobwaiting