Their experiment was formerly selected for Cubes in Space, a NASA project that provides school-going children the opportunity to evaluate their innovations in deep space via a suborbital flight mission. Now in June 2023, they will fulfill a team of NASA scientists to discuss their revolutionary findings.
The experiment was first reported in a press release by the University of Ottawa..
When the cubes returned to Earth, they were sent to a lab at the University of Ottawa to check if the chemicals inside them went through any modifications. Remarkably, about 87 percent of the overall epinephrine was still pure however 13 percent of the sample has become highly harmful benzoic acid derivatives. The epinephrine most likely broken down due to the conditions in external space and therefore, the chemical was total no longer ideal for human use..
Can you guess what would happen if an astronaut whos allergic to space dust opens their EpiPen in space and takes a dose? External space is filled with radiation and area dust that makes up various damaging chemicals, gases, and components. The PGL students sent out pure epinephrine and EpiPen epinephrine solution to space in 2 little NASA cubes; one on a rocket and the other on an area balloon.
These results plainly show that we d either have to customize EpiPens or require new medical applications to deal with allergic reactions in outer area. They are developing a capsule that would safeguard the epinephrine service inside an EpiPen from breaking down in area.
However, it is not just the astronauts who are at threat. If you send out any chemical to deep space, it might behave differently than how it acts in the world. This is because the chemical you send out might respond with other chemicals in area. The PGL trainees sent out pure epinephrine and EpiPen epinephrine option to space in 2 small NASA cubes; one on a rocket and the other on a space balloon.
Checking epinephrine in space.
A report on space radiation from NASA mentions, beyond low Earth orbit, space radiation might put astronauts at substantial danger for radiation sickness, and increased life time threat for cancer, central nervous system effects, and degenerative diseases. Research research studies of exposure in different doses and strengths of radiation supply strong evidence that cancer and degenerative illness are to be anticipated from direct exposures to galactic cosmic rays (GCR) or solar particle occasions (SPE).”.
An epinephrine autoinjector with its main components highlighted. Image credits: Chemistryroxpharmacysux/Wikimedia Commons.
An EpiPen is a medical device that is used to instantly inject a dosage of epinephrine into a persons body to conquer the effects of dangerous allergic responses. Can you guess what would take place if an astronaut whos allergic to space dust opens their EpiPen in space and takes a dose? The astronaut might feel as if he or she has actually been poisoned because epinephrine, the anti-allergic medication in the world, ends up being a toxic substance as quickly as it gets in area..
External area is filled with radiation and area dust that makes up different damaging chemicals, gases, and elements. Since our world is shielded by different layers of the environment, we and other kinds of life on Earth are safe from harmful area radiation.
This eye-opening info is based upon an experiment performed by a group of grade school trainees in Canada. Whats more unexpected is that previously, even NASA had no idea about EpiPens turning hazardous in area. The trainees who performed the EpiPen test belong to the program for talented learners (PGL) at Ottawa-based St. Brother André School..
” In reality, no epinephrine was discovered in the after (returned) EpiPen solution samples. This result raises concerns about the effectiveness of an EpiPen for deep space applications and these questions are now beginning to be attended to by the kids in the PGL program,” said Paul Mayer, a chemistry professor at the University of Ottawa.
These results plainly suggest that we d either have to customize EpiPens or need brand-new medical applications to deal with allergic reactions in outer space. The PGL students have actually currently started operating in this direction. They are establishing a pill that would protect the epinephrine solution inside an EpiPen from disintegrating in space. Ideally, these talented kids will be successful in making EpiPens work for space tourists..
” The trainees were thrilled, and we ran with it,” their instructor, Deborah Quail-Blier, informs Dave Charbonneau of CTV News. “The results were in fact rather stunning.”.