The first cell culture experiments aboard the International Space Station are on the way to being completed by early next week.

Commander Frank Culbertson has been working with the 32 cell cultures that are growing kidney, ovarian and colon cells. Last week, he started the experiment by initiating cell growth in each culture and then placing them in the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller. This incubator keeps the cells at 36 degrees Celsius.

While completing many activities with the cell cultures, Culbertson has been working closely with Payload Communications Managers at the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

On Monday, Aug. 27, Culbertson preserved eight of the cultures by injecting a fixative into the samples. Then, he placed the cultures in the Biotechnology Refrigerator, where they will be stored until the Space Shuttle brings them home later this year. For the remaining cultures -- still growing inside the incubator -- he replenished the nutrient media to encourage cell growth. He also checked the samples with a special device that monitors the health of the cells and growth media.

Four separate investigations are being carried out as part of the Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System, or CBOSS. Scientists are studying different types of normal and abnormal cells to see if microgravity -- the low-gravity inside the Space Station -- results in cells that form tissues more like those found in the human body. On Earth, most cells grown in cultures form flat, thin specimens that do not allow scientists to examine how the cells work together.

This research is the first opportunity for scientists to begin growth of cell cultures that have never been exposed to Earth's gravity. This is possible because the crew was available to start the experiment soon after the cells were delivered to the Space Station. This will make it easier for investigators to determine the differences between samples grown in space and samples grown in Earth's constant gravity.

This cell culture system is an interim platform for cell-based research aboard the Space Station that will be used until the permanent Biotechnology Facility is delivered to the Station. This experiment is managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and is part of the Microgravity Research Program at the Marshall Center.

The Expedition Three crew also became test subjects for a new human life sciences experiment started in space this week: the Renal Stone investigation studies a possible countermeasure for preventing kidney stone formation. Previous data have indicated that space flight causes changes in the human renal system, including the kidneys. Exposure to microgravity may increase the risk of kidney stone development during and immediately after space flight.

During Expedition Three, the crew is testing potassium citrate as a possible therapy for minimizing renal stone development. This week, they are setting up equipment for collecting urine samples, and they are completing diet logs.

Many experiments continue to be monitored by the crew and operated by investigators at telescience centers around the world. The Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space science team has commanded several runs during Expedition Three from the NASA Glenn Research Center's Telescience Support Center in Cleveland, Ohio. A colloid is a system of particles suspended in a fluid. Common examples are paint, milk and ink. Microgravity research may yield insights that could lead to engineering new colloid products on Earth.

A group of scientists at the University of Alabama in Birmingham are sending commands to the Dynamically Controlled Protein Crystal Growth experiment, which is growing biological crystals in space. This experiment is the first to allow scientists on the ground to control the crystallization rate of biological samples. Using nitrogen gas, the scientist can adjust the evaporation rate of the solution surrounding the forming crystals. Analysis of crystals grown in space may provide insights into numerous biological processes on Earth, with applications ranging from medicine to agriculture.

Part of setting up any new laboratory is characterizing the environment where the experiments are conducted. Three experiments that study the microgravity environment recorded data during the Progress spacecraft docking last week. The Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System and the Space Acceleration Measurement System recorded the vibrations inside the Station during the dockings activities.

The Active Rack Isolation System ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE) has captured data during the docking and undocking of the Progress spacecraft, as well as the Shuttle undocking, recording vibrations outside and inside EXPRESS Rack 2. As the events occurred, the ICE experiment recorded detailed data on how the ARIS vibration isolation system in EXPRESS Rack 2 responded to the docking activities. ICE has recorded both low-frequency vibrations during crew exercise and Station reboosting operations and broad frequency vibrations during hammer testing and spacecraft dockings and undockings. Next, engineers will collect measurements with a calibrated "shaker" device to further define the system's ability to protect delicate microgravity experiments from specific higher frequency vibrations.

In addition, the Bonner Ball Neutron Detector, delivered during Expedition Two, continues to record data on the Station's radiation environment.

Photography targets uplinked this week to the Space Station for the Crew Earth Observations research program include dust, smoke, smog and volcanic ash over Europe; fault patterns in rocks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains; the Yangtze river delta and the Nile river delta; industrial haze over the northeastern United States and Canada; and agriculture land patterns, surface geology and dust storms in California's central valley region.