NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: March 11, 1999

Media Advisory m99-049

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Summary

-- News release: New flu drug results from space research

-- Video file for March 11
-- Live interview opportunities for flu story, March 12

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News Releases for March 11, 1999

SPACE RESEARCH MAY ACCELERATE

DEVELOPMENT OF FLU FIGHTING DRUG

A NASA-industry team has used the results of Space Shuttle

experiments to develop a new flu drug that may decrease the
length and severity of the illness and even prevent the
development of symptoms in those exposed to the virus. With
NASA support for space and ground-based research, Dr. Ming
Luo, a professor at the Center for Macromolecular
Crystallography at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and an international team of crystallographers developed the
"molecular map" of the flu virus from space-grown protein
crystals. The map was used to design drugs that block the
undesirable characteristics of the virus.

Contact at Headquarters: Renee Juhans, 202/358-1712;

Contact at Marshall Space Flight Center: Steve Roy, 256/544-
6535.

Full text of the release:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-039.txt

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will

e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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Contract Awards

Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition

Information Service Web site:

http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

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Video File for March 11, 1999

ITEM 1. FLU RESEARCH
ITEM 1A. FLU CRYSTALS; CRYSTAL GROWTH IN SPACE (time lapse)
ITEM 1B. FLU RESEARCHERS AT WORK
ITEM 1C. INTERVIEW - DR. LARRY DELUCAS, RESEARCHER -
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
ITEM 1D. INTERVIEW - DR. CHARLIE BUGG, CEO BIOCRYST
PHARMACEUTICALS

Contact at Headquarters: Renee Juhans, 202/358-1712.

Contact at Marshall Space Flight Center: Steve Roy, 256-544-
6535.

The NASA Video File airs at noon, 3, 6, 9 p.m. and midnight

Eastern time. NASA Television is available on GE-2,
transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical
polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio
at 6.8 megahertz. The full text of the most recent NASA
Video File Advisory can be found at:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt

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Upcoming Live Television Interview Opportunities for Flu

Story

March 12, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST.

Talent: Dr. Karen Moore, biotechnology scientist from the

Center for Molecular Crystallography, a NASA Commercial Space
Center in Birmingham, Alabama. To book a time, call Terasha
King at (256) 544-3234 or Connie James at 256-544-1183 (PIN
0224).

Full text of the advisory can be found at:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt

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end of daily news summary

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