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[ Music ]

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>> DMD or Duchenne muscular
dystrophy is the most common

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muscle disease affecting
young boys;

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it affects about 1 in 3,600.

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It's an incurable
condition, and it results

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in really muscle weakness that
worsens over a boy's lifetime.

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Typically, boys lose their
ability to walk around age 12.

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As boys go through adolescence,

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they have usually additional
complications related

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to their lung or pulmonary
health, as well as more often

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than not will develop cardiac
disease, heart disease,

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and fortunately most boys
will pass away in their 20s

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from complications such as
pneumonia, or heart failure.

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[ Music ]

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In order to combat
diseases like this we have

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to study the structure of
proteins that are associated

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with that particular disease.

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In order to do that, we first
must crystallize the protein,

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and that crystal is
basically millions of copies

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of that same protein aligned
like a row of bricks on a wall,

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but in three dimensions.

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>> But here's the problem,
when we try to grow a crystal

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on earth gravity can affect the
way the molecules become aligned

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on the crystal's surface

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and that affects the overall
quality of the crystal.

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>> The ideal environment to grow
a more perfect crystal would be

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a lab that we could have up
in space orbiting the globe

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so that we are free
of earth's gravity.

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Luckily we have one of those

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with the International
Space Station.

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>> Since 2003, the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency has

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conducted more than 16 sessions

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of the protein crystal growth
experiments onboard the

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International Space Station.

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>> In microgravity the
crystals grow much more slowly,

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but the molecules have more
time to get perfectly arranged

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on the surface of the crystal,

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and that gives us
much better data.

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>> One of the most promising
results has been gained

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by studying a protein associated
with Duchenne muscular disorder.

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>> Studying this protein
that [inaudible] discovery

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like a key fitting into
a key hole we are able

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to design the graph that
perfectly binds to this protein.

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>> By knowing the shape of that
key hole we can tailor make a

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drug to fit into a specific
location of the protein.

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>> What this means is we may
be able to slow the disease

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by half instead of
being in a wheelchair

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at 12 we might be able
to push that age to 25.

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Instead of being
dependent upon this vision

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at 20 years old you
live to be 40.

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What are we talking about is
potentially doubling the life

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span of many of the
DMD patients.

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And it's all because of such
a [inaudible] afforded to us

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by the International
Space Station.

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>> This research is
really just in its infancy;

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there are literally thousands

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of other proteins who's
structures we need to determine,

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and the International
Space Station is going

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to provide a platform where we
can hopefully grow much better

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crystals that will allow us to
get structures and to learn more

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about how these molecules
function in our body,

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in bacteria, or in viruses.

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We're doing this research
not just for ourselves

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or our children, but
for generations to come.

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Many of the protein structures

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that will be determined
wouldn't be possible

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without the International
Space Station.

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[ Music ]

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>> I'm hoping that those
trials will be successful,

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that they will tell
us yes there is a way

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that we can keep
these boys stronger

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for a longer period of time.

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That we can help their
heart and pulmonary function

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and that they can live longer;
that they can grow up and go