Aug 25 1975
From The Space Library
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project astronaut Donald K. Slayton entered Texas Medical Center to undergo exploratory surgery for a small lesion on his left lung. NASA physicians had discovered the lesion in x-rays taken during the astronaut's postflight recovery from gas inhalation [see 25 July]. Slayton's x-rays had shown a complete clearing of lung infiltrates but revealed a 4-mm discrete shadow. Specialized x-rays, called tomograms, taken 6 Aug. had confirmed that the shadow was indeed a lesion and of a part of the normal lung structure. NASA physicians, conferring with chest specialists at the Texas Medical Center, recommended surgery; all the doctors agreed that the lesion had not resulted from the gas inhalation. (JSC Release 75-69)
The People's Republic of China had confirmed that its three satellites China 1, launched 24 April 1970; China 2, launched 3 March 1971; and China 3, launched 26 July 1975-had earth-observation capability, Defense Space Business Daily reported. Although the PRO's People's Daily had published cloud photos taken by one of the satellites, and the implication was that the satellites were forerunners of meteorological satellites, their performance suggested the development of higher resolution observation-reconnaissance satellites. All three satellites had been placed into orbits with perigees at reconnaissance altitudes sufficient to cover all targets of interest to the PRC. (SBD, 25 Aug 75, 290 NASA's use of the firefly s two light-producing chemicals, luciferin and luciferase, to test for the chemical presence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy-storage compound present in every living cell, had increased interest in luminescence as a tool for medical research, the New York Times reported. Research done in 1948 by Johns Hopkins Univ. scientists had demonstrated that ATP was the third essential ingredient-along with luciferin and luciferase-necessary for the firefly's glow, and that the amount of light generated was directly proportionate to the level of ATP present. The Hopkins scientists had also developed a simple test for life itself, since luciferin and luciferase added to any living matter could reproduce the firefly's glimmer. NASA applied this information, with more sophisticated light- detection instruments, to develop a test for life on Mars for use aboard the Viking spacecraft (launched 20 Aug.)
NASA scientists working with the firefly chemicals at Goddard Space Flight Center had developed many applications, including a method of detecting bacteria in water; this permitted speedy diagnosis of urinary infections, as well as testing the effect of various antibiotics on particular infections.
Univ. of Calif. scientists continued the research, adapting the techniques for related work in measuring creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in the bloodstream. CPK, present in all human blood, was produced in abnormally high quantities during muscle-cell degeneration that accompanied cardiac arrest or muscular dystrophy. CPK could be treated to produce ATP and, with the application of firefly chemicals, to produce a glow proportionate to the amount of CPK in the bloodstream. Researchers had used the measurements as a quick blood test to tell whether a patient had suffered a heart attack. (NYT, 25 Aug 75)
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