Experimental and theoretical analysis of the influence of gravity at the cellular level: a review.

The present paper is a review of the experimental investigations published in the literature and performed by the authors on space vehicles. The paper also gives an analysis of theoretical concepts concerning gravitational effects on the cell. Taking this into account, the authors put forth a hypothesis that free-living unicellular organisms are indifferent to variations in the magnitude and direction of the gravitational field.

Biological investigations aboard the biosatellite Cosmos-1129.

Experiments on insects, higher plants and lower fungi were carried out aboard the biological satellite Cosmos-l129, in Earth orbit, from 25 September to 14 October 1979. The main objective of these experiments was to gain more profound knowledge of the effect of weightlessness on living organisms and to study the mechanisms by which these various organisms with different life cycles can adjust and develop in weightlessness. Experiments on insects (Drosophila melanogaster) were made with a view towards understanding gravitational preference in flies, the life cycle of which took place on board the biosatellite under conditions of artificial gravity.

Biological investigations aboard biosatellite Cosmos-782.

The Cosmos-782 flight from 25 November to 15 December 1975, carried biological experiments designed to study the effects of weightlessness on insects and fish and on gravitropism and growth in several seed varieties. Investigations carried out on Drosophila melanogaster measured the frequency of recessive lethal mutations and the change in genetic distances in the sex chromosome. The study of Fundulus heteroclitus eggs and fry compared the effects of weightlessness and artificial gravity.

Biological experiments carried out aboard the biological satellite Cosmos-936.

Experiments to study the effect of weightlessness on the emergence and development of cell organelles and genetic structures were carried out during 18.5 days aboard the biological satellite Cosmos-936. The experiments were conducted on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster Orgeon-R.

Experiments with micro-organisms and human cell cultures in the Zond 5 and Zond 7 flights.

Lysogenic strains of Escherichia coli were exposed to space conditions aboard the flight of Zond 5 and Zond 7. Space flight factors appeared to affect the state of episome systems of bacteria, as judged by data obtained with F-Lac+ donor cells which also carried genetic markers for threonine and leucine. Observations on phage induction are discussed and compared with results obtained aboard Biosatellite 2.