Life Science studies in space were initially driven by the need to explore how man could survive spaceflight conditions; the effects of being launched un der high accelerations, exposed to weightlessness and radiation for different periods of time, and returned to Earth in safety. In order to substantiate the detailed knowledge of potentially adverse effects, many model experiments were launched using organisms which ranged from bacteria, plants, inverte brates, rodents and primates through to man. Although no immediate life threatening effects were found, these experiments can be considered today as the precursors to life science research in space. Many unexplained effects on these life forms were attributed to the condition of weightlessness. Most of them were poorly recorded, poorly published, or left simply with anecdotal information. Only with the advent of Skylab, and later Spacelab, did the idea emerge, and indeed the infrastructure permit, weightlessness to be considered as an ex tended tool for research into some fundamental mechanisms or processes as sociated with the effect of gravity on organisms at all levels. The initial hy pothesis to extrapolate from hypergravity through 1 x g to near 0 x g effects could no longer be retained, since many of the experiment results were seen to contradict the models or theories in the current textbooks of biology and physiology. The past decade has been dedicated primarily to exploratory research.

In this first volume in the Space Biology and Medicine series, contributors describe the current status of their understanding of space, highlighting physical and ecological conditions as well as heavenly bodies, and provide general information that will prove useful in the later volumes. The book is divided into four parts: Part I, Historical Perspective; Part II, The Space Environment; Part III, Life in the Universe; and Part IV, Space Exploration. Chapter contributions were made by both U.S. and Russian authors. The book also features an appendix of Astronomical and Physical Quantities, a detailed subject index, and an 8-page color section.

Construction of the international space station, scheduled to start in late 1998, ushers in a new era for laboratory sciences in space. This is especially true for space life sciences, which include not only the use of low gravity as an experimental parameter to study fundamental biological processes but also the study of the serious physiological changes that occur in astronauts as they remain in space for increasingly longer missions. This book addresses both of these aspects and provides a comprehensive review of ground-based and space research in eleven disciplines, ranging from bone physiology to plant biology. It also offers detailed, prioritized recommendations for research during the next decade, which are expected to have a considerable impact on the direction of NASA's research program. The volume is also a valuable reference tool for space and life scientists.

Construction of the international space station, scheduled to start in late 1998, ushers in a new era for laboratory sciences in space. This is especially true for space life sciences, which include not only the use of low gravity as an experimental parameter to study fundamental biological processes but also the study of the serious physiological changes that occur in astronauts as they remain in space for increasingly longer missions. This book addresses both of these aspects and provides a comprehensive review of ground-based and space research in eleven disciplines, ranging from bone physiology to plant biology. It also offers detailed, prioritized recommendations for research during the next decade, which are expected to have a considerable impact on the direction of NASA's research program. The volume is also a valuable reference tool for space and life scientists.

Nicogossian, Arnauld E., Investigator, NASA Center: HQS.

The 1998 Committee on Space Biology and Medicine (CSBM) report A Strategy for Research in Space Biology and Medicine in the New Century assessed the known and potential effects of spaceflight on biological systems in general and on human physiology, behavior, and performance in particular, and recommended directions for research sponsored over the next decade by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The present follow-up report reviews specifically the overall content of the biomedical research programs supported by NASA in order to assess the extent to which current programs are consistent with recommendations of the Strategy report for biomedical research activities. In general, NASA programs concerned with fundamental gravitational biology are not considered here. The committee also notes that this report does not include an evaluation of NASA's response to the Strategy report, which had only recently been released at the initiation of this study. Review of NASA's Biomedical Research Program summarizes the committee's findings from its review of (1) NASA's biomedical research and (2) programmatic issues described in the Strategy report that are relevant to NASA's ability to implement research recommendations.