The Role of the LINC Complex in Ageing and Microgravity.

The Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton (LINC) complex plays a crucial role in connecting the nuclear envelope to the cytoskeleton, providing structural support to the nucleus and facilitating mechanical signaling between the extracellular environment and the nucleus. Research in mechanobiology onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and in simulated microgravity (SMG) highlight the importance of gravity in functional mechanotransduction. Although the altered gravity research regarding mechanobiology has been greatly focused on the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix (ECM), recent research demonstrates that SMG also induces changes in nuclear mechanics and gene expression patterns, which have been shown to be LINC complex dependent.

Proton therapy of lung cancer patients - Treatment strategies and clinical experience from a medical physicist's perspective.

Purpose: Proton therapy of moving targets is considered a challenge. At Maastro, we started treating lung cancer patients with proton therapy in October 2019. In this work, we summarise the developed treatment strategies and gained clinical experience from a physics point of view.

Bioconversion of aflatoxin-contaminated groundnut press cake by larvae of black soldier fly Hermetia illucens results in a complete mass balance for aflatoxin B.

Groundnuts are considered as one of the most important cultivated food crops globally. Groundnuts are used for vegetable oil production, which generate a variety of by-products, such as peanut press cake (PPC). Groundnuts are sensitive to infection by aflatoxigenic fungi.

Wolffia globosa, a novel crop species for protein production in space agriculture.

Space agriculture, pivotal for sustainable extraterrestrial missions, requires plants that can adapt to altered gravitational conditions. This study delves into the adaptive responses to altered gravity of Wolffia globosa, an aquatic plant known for its rapid growth and high nutritional value. The research aimed to analyse the effect of simulated microgravity and hypergravity on relative growth rate (RGR), morphological characteristics, protein content, and the correlation between plant size and growth rate of Wolffia globosa.

Gene-environmental influence of space and microgravity on red blood cells with sickle cell disease.

A fundamental question in human biology and for hematological disease is how do complex gene-environment interactions lead to individual disease outcome? This is no less the case for sickle cell disease (SCD), a monogenic disorder of Mendelian inheritance, both clinical course, severity, and treatment response, is variable amongst affected individuals. New insight and discovery often lie between the intersection of seemingly disparate disciplines. Recently, opportunities for space medicine have flourished and have offered a new paradigm for study.