NASA’s Research On NanoRacks-Slime Mold

Slime molds form when individual cells swarm together and self-assemble into a blob, essentially a giant single cell containing thousands of nuclei. These unusual cells, which have already been found on the International Space Station, respond to external forces and stimuli by moving and changing their shapes. NanoRacks-Slime Mold Organization (NanoRacks-Slime Mold) treats slime molds with a series of stimuli while in microgravity, monitoring their responses and comparing them to slime molds on the ground.

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Description

Slime molds have unique behavior.  At times they behave like isolated single-celled organisms, at other times they assemble into slug-like multi-cellular organisms, and when they are under duress they can form fruiting bodies and sporulate.  This behavior, in itself, is interesting but the behavior could be even more interesting when it occurs in microgravity.  NanoRacks-Slime Mold Organization (NanoRacks-Slime Mold) investigates several questions:  Will the single-celled organisms be able to self-assemble into the multi-celled organism in microgravity?  Upon induction of sporulation, will the fruiting body be able to develop without the spatial organizing principle of gravity? Studies on Physarum have even shown that they have ability to learn and predict periodic stimuli .Will this ability transfer into a microgravity environment?

Professor John Tyler Bonner of Princeton University, has spent a lifetime studying slime molds.  In his book The Social Amoebae: The Biology of Cellular Slime Molds he states that they are “no more than a bag of amoebae encased in a thin slime sheath, yet they manage to have various behaviours that are equal to those of animals who possess muscles and nerves with ganglia – that is, simple brains.”  The simplest statement of the project is that NanoRacks-Slime Mold aims to investigate whether or not slime molds can learn to adapt to a completely new environment.

In addition, there is some anecdotal evidence (gathered from a personal conversation with Dr. Don Pettit) that slime molds already exist on the ISS, having arrived there accidentally, but that they have not been studied.  It is possible that our research could be helpful in understanding how slime molds function on the ISS and, perhaps, be applied to eliminating them or reducing their negative effects.

Space Applications
Slime molds and biofilms have been found on the ISS, and may grow differently in microgravity than they do on Earth. Better understanding of their behavior helps scientists develop countermeasures to dispose of them or control them.

Earth Applications
Improved understanding of slime mold behavior yields new methods for eliminating them or using them for human benefit on Earth. Slime molds self-replicate and self-organize, and their unique capabilities may lead to new biotechnology discoveries.

Research Overview

  • The NanoRacks-Slime Mold Organization (NanoRacks-Slime Mold) growth chambers contain slime molds that are exposed to differing chemical and physical stimuli.
  • The NanoRacks-Slime Mold microcontroller system has been developed by Texas A&M University.
  • This experiment uses a standard 1.5 U (10 cm by 10 cm by 15 cm) NanoRacks Module consisting of a LEXAN™ArduLab covered in Aluminum tape (High Temperature 3M™ Aluminum Tape).

Credit : NASA

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