On Jul. 20, 2006, Sandia and the University of New Mexico reported that experiments involving single-cell organisms in nanostructures were placed on the International Space Station.

Researchers were investigating the manner in which living cells placed in nanostructures apparently direct the creation of nanocompartments. The study, published in Science, demonstrated that common yeast cells (as well as bacterial and some mammalian cells) customize the construction of nanocompartments built for them.