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The Open Science Data Repository Download
Year In Review 2024
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Happy New Year! As we start 2025, we reflect on incredible achievements, collaborations, and innovations of the past year. 2024 brought transformative projects and strengthened partnerships that have propelled our mission forward. From advancing space biology research to enhancing data accessibility and fostering global collaboration, 2024 has been a testament to our commitment to exploring the unknown and supporting humanity’s journey to the stars. Join us as we look back on the highlights of the past year and celebrate the progress we’ve made together. |
Inspiration4 Data Now Available on OSDR
The Inspiration4 mission collected a comprehensive atlas of both ‘omics and phenotypic biological measurements from four civilian astronauts, providing a wealth of data to characterize the effects of spaceflight on the human body. Most of the prior datasets in OSDR were based on model organisms (e.g. rodents, worms, and flies) that provided insight to the stressors and hazards spaceflight has on human biology. Now, for the first time, OSDR is hosting processed commercial astronaut data that are publicly available.
This comprehensive study includes whole blood and urine samples, microbial swabs from the crew and the spacecraft cabin, which were collected at different time points before, during, and after spaceflight. These datasets are now available so come check them out!
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Nature Press Package of 45 Publications
During the I4 mission, a wealth of ‘omics and phenotypic biological measurements were collected from the four astronauts, yielding a comprehensive Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA). With over 100 institutions working across geographical boundaries and teams from more than 25 countries, this concerted effort presents an in-depth map elucidating the physiological ramifications of spaceflight on the human body. This collaborative endeavor resulted in the synchronized release of 44 publications in Nature Press documenting the molecular, cellular, physiological, and phenotypic changes observed during spaceflight.
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OSDR has New Management
The Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) is pleased to announce a significant transition in its management team. Dr Sylvain Costes has taken on a new role as the Science Data Officer within NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division. With Sylvain’s departure from OSDR, Samrawit Gebre has been appointed as the new Project Manager, while Danielle Lopez will serve as the Deputy Project Manager. This leadership change marks a new chapter in the ongoing evolution of OSDR, as it continues to expand its mission of providing open access to scientific data across disciplines.
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2024 AWG Symposium
Spanning two days, from May 1 - 2, 2024, the annual Analysis Working Group (AWG) Symposium showcased the outstanding space biology science stemming from the AWG community. Under the overarching theme of "Bridging Space Biology and Advanced Technologies," this event featured keynote addresses from Shawna Pandya, Kellie Gerardi, and Chris Sembroski, along with scientific presentations from the AWG community. In case you missed this event, don't worry, we've got you covered. Watch the recordings now!
View the agenda to help you navigate which recording to watch, or watch them all!
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RadLab Expands to Include Detectors Operating BLEO
On August 12, 2024, the Open Science Data Repository Visualization team unveiled the latest updates to the RadLab Portal. Originally focused on radiation data from detectors aboard the International Space Station, RadLab has now expanded its scope to include detectors on spacecraft operating Beyond Low Earth Orbit (BLEO).
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OSDR Has a New Website!
Over the last three months, OSDR has been hard at work merging the GeneLab and OSDR websites into a single, streamlined online presence, resulting in a newly revamped website (nasa.gov/osdr). This consolidation enhances user accessibility and offers a more seamless experience for researchers and the public alike. Come explore the new website today!
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Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop
Join the Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop (HRP IWS) in Galveston, TX from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31, 2025! Hear from an array of scientists and principal investigators as they pursue cutting-edge and cross-disciplinary methods to ensure safe, productive, and efficient human spaceflight. This year’s IWS theme is celebrating our partnerships with nations, commercial companies, other government agencies, and more. You must be registered to attend this event in person or to view livestreams.
OSDR Schedule at HRP IWS
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OSDR-Enabled Publications | |
It’s been only four months since our last newsletter and there have been 14 new OSDR-enabled publications! Check out some of these latest publications and more on the OSDR publications list. | |
NASA open science data repository: open science for life in space
Gebre S G, Scott R T, Saravia-Butler A M, Lopez D K, Sanders L M, Costes S V (2024). NASA open science data repository: open science for life in space, Nucleic Acids Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae1116
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Mission SpaceX CRS-19 RRRM-1 space flight induced skin genomic plasticity via an epigenetic trigger
Singh K, Verma P, Srivastava R, Rustagi Y, Kumar M, Verma S S, Mohanty S, et al, (2024). Mission SpaceX CRS-19 RRRM-1 Space Flight Induced Skin Genomic Plasticity via an Epigenetic Trigger, iScience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111382
Datasets: OSD-239
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RadLab: An open science resource for radiation studies relevant to human spaceflight
Grigorev K A, Miller J, Narici L, Costes S V, (2024). RadLab: An open science resource for radiation studies relevant to human spaceflight, Life Sciences in Space Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2024.10.001
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Metabolic stress in space: ROS-induced mutations in mice hint at a new path to cancer
Stolc V, Karhanek M, Freund F, Griko Y, Loftus D J, Ohayon M M, (2024). Metabolic Stress In Space: ROS-Induced Mutations In Mice Hint At A New Path To Cancer, Redox Biology.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2024.103398
Datasets: OSD-102, OSD-103, OSD-137, OSD-162
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On-Demand Courses Now Available!
The GeneLab for Colleges and Universities (GL4U): Introduction and Omics-specific module sets are also available as on-demand courses through Canvas. These self-paced courses expand the reach of GL4U even further by providing flexible learning opportunities for students, educators, researchers, and citizen scientists. Visit the GL4U page for more info.
Through a NASA grant awarded to the staff of OSDR and Space Biology, “AI/ML in Space Biology Training” is a comprehensive course designed to equip researchers with foundational skills in data analysis and machine learning tailored specifically for space biology. The course includes pre-recorded lectures, Python notebooks, and quizzes, and is offered as a self-paced online curriculum. Access the on-demand trainings via the AI/ML for Space Biology page.
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OSDR Attends Multiple Conferences and Workshops
The OSDR team had a dynamic presence at several conferences this year, showcasing their expertise through a variety of engagements. From presenting impactful scientific posters and delivering insightful talks to hosting interactive demo tables, OSDR highlighted its role in advancing space biology and health research. Team members also contributed as panelists and keynote speakers, fostering discussions on data usability, open science, and cutting-edge research tools. These efforts not only shared OSDR’s resources and innovations but also deepened collaborations within the global scientific community. Below is a list of conferences OSDR team members attended.
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Out of this World Science
On February 8th, the University of California’s Space Health and NASA's Ames Space Biosciences co-hosted the first hybrid Space Health and Space Biology Symposium at UCSF’s Mission Hall, bringing together 60 in-person and 35 online attendees. The event included four scientific presentations covering topics such as immunoscenescence on the ISS, NASA’s Open Science Data Repository, renal health in space, and metagenomics in space exploration. The symposium, followed by an engaging Q+A. Building on this momentum, a second symposium on September 11th included presentations on AI-driven data curation methods and the SPOKE Biomedical Knowledge Graph, further strengthening partnerships and advancing space biology and health research.
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Latest Success Stories
Welcome to the “Open Science Success Stories”. These short narratives showcase insights garnered from interviews with members of the AWG community who have utilized Open Science datasets as a catalyst for advancing their careers in the field of space biology. Listen to the latest interviews.
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Latest OSDR Chats
Check out the latest releases of OSDR Chats on our YouTube channel!
Robert Reynolds - “Validating casual diagrams of human health risks for spaceflight: An example using bone data from rodents."
Keith Siew - “Cosmic kidney disease: An integrated pan-omic, physiological, and morphological study into spaceflight-induced renal dysfunction."
Jakub Mieczkowski - "Chromosomal positioning and epigenetic architecture influence DNA methylation patterns triggered by galactic cosmic radiation."
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First Inaugural Meet the Authors Series
On October 3, 2024, the Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) hosted its inaugural “Meet the Authors” session, a virtual panel featuring three authors of OSDR-enabled publications. With 17 attendees, the event focused on “Space Health Factors in Publications Enabled by Open Science,” highlighting articles on gut permeability, gene-based monitoring systems, and circadian dysregulation by researchers from the University of Florida, University of Saskatchewan, and Medical School-Hamburg. The authors emphasized how OSDR datasets enhanced their research, and audience questions centered on FAIR principles and bioinformatics tools.
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Open Science Data Repository’s RadLab was Used for Forecasting Radiation Exposure for Human Space Flight
As part of the FDL-X Heliolab 2024 challenge, a collaboration between NASA and Trillium Technologies Inc., a team of four researchers (Elena Massara, Xiaomei Song, Rutuja Gurav, and Kimberly Sinclair) developed a machine learning model for live forecasting of space radiation spikes based on space weather, solar imagery, and radiation dose data. The model was trained on data from GOES space weather (NOAA), SDO solar imagery (GSFC), and radiation data from BioSentinel and CRaTER (RadLab), successfully predicting potential radiation dose increases within a 24-hour window. The project was led by three faculty members (Matt Kusner, Atılım Güneş Baydin, and Bala Poduval) and advised by NASA personnel (Sylvain Costes, Jack Miller, and Kirill Grigorev).
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GeneLab for High School’s Students Shine as Co-Authors in Two Nature Publications
GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS), a summer training program launched in 2017 at NASA Ames Research Center, immerses students in bioinformatics and space biology, engaging them in authentic scientific research. Over the years, GL4HS students have increasingly showcased their work at prominent conferences, published in journals like Gravitational and Space Research, and contributed to major scientific studies, including a recent Nature Press package of 45 studies. Notably, students from the 2020–2022 cohorts contributed to two significant publications. In 2022, Angela Mo, Alice Finklestein, and Peyton Walton co-authored a study on the gut microbiome during spaceflight, published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes. Their re-analysis of NASA's OSD-379 mouse gene expression dataset provided critical insights into bile acid's role in spaceflight pathology. Meanwhile, students from the 2020 and 2021 cohorts—Chiara Wernecke, Hari Parthasarathy, Hriday Unadkat, and Mira Chatrathi—contributed to a study on spaceflight dermatology, re-analyzing five mouse skin datasets and preparing key analyses for publication. These achievements highlight the value of GL4HS in empowering the next generation of scientists to make meaningful contributions to cutting-edge research.
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OSDR Tutorials Now Available
OSDR recently released updated and new tutorials for how to use and navigate the various OSDR features and tools. Check out the OSDR tutorials now.
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Since the start of 2024, a total of 39 transcriptomic, 19 genomic, and 5 proteomic/metabolomic, GeneLab datasets have been added to the Open Science Data Repository this year.
To ensure omics data hosted on the GeneLab Data Repository are accessible to and interpretable by a broad scientific audience GeneLab collaborated with our AWG scientific community to develop and standardize consensus processing pipelines for each omics data type. Standardizing pipelines is necessary to minimize variation in data processing, which enables the integration of data from the diverse array of spaceflight and analog experiments hosted on GeneLab. View the latest 95 processed datasets.
Since the start of 2024, 18 ALSDA (pheno-physiological-behavioral-imaging) datasets have been released. A sampling of these datasets include: behavioral video from drosophila aboard the International Space Station; immunostaining microscopy of the retinal-blood barrier from RR9; muscle calcium uptake data from spectrofluorometry RR1 and RR9; echocardiogram-ultrasound data from mice exposed to low-dose oxygen ions and protons; and so much more. These first-to-be-released pheno-physio datasets enable multi-hierarchical analytics between the molecular genomic level to the tissue, organ, system, and whole organismal behavioral levels. Sincerest appreciation to the 100+ ALSDA AWG members who provided feedback on assay metadata and tabular/imaging data standards enabling scientific.
This brings the grand total to 532 datasets in the repository!
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Stay tuned for more exciting news from Open Science in the Spring 2025 Newsletter!
The Open Science Team
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