HOUSTON, May 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says the International Space Station will soon have a new water system, allowing up to six people to live aboard the orbiting lab.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the new water recovery system is the second part of a comprehensive life support system for the station. It's scheduled to fly aboard space shuttle Endeavour on STS-126 that's targeted for launch later this year.

"Recycling will be an essential part of daily life for future astronauts, whether on board the space station or living on the moon," said Mike Suffredini, the ISS program manager. "Delivering this hardware is an important step in achieving the station's full potential, allowing … more scientific research."

By recycling water, the system reduces the station's dependence on Earth resupply by cutting the amount of water and consumables needed to be launched by about 15,000 pounds a year. Through a series of chemical treatment processes and filters, the new system creates water clean enough to drink, NASA scientists said.

NASA engineers and scientists at Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International Inc. in Windsor Locks, Conn., led the design and development of the water recovery system.

First U.S. canine corneal implant reported

AMES, Iowa, May 13 (UPI) -- Veterinarians from Iowa State University announced they have performed the first veterinary corneal implant procedure in the United States.

Iowa State Assistant Professor Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic performed the surgery that restored sight to "Dixie" -- a 7-year-old dog cared for by Brett Williams of Runnells, Iowa.

"We are excited for Dixie," said Grozdanic. "She was our patient for such a long time and nothing really worked. She was gradually going down visually and we were finally able to do something to definitely improve her quality of life."

Grozdanic cut into Dixie's eye to remove the cloudy cornea and inserted a permanent plastic cornea. He then covered the eye, including the plastic cornea, with Dixie's own tissue to help the eye heal. After several weeks, Grozdanic removed the bandages and cut a hole into the tissue to expose the new, plastic cornea, developed by a German company called Acrivet.

Grozdanic says that Dixie can see but has no peripheral vision.

"For Dixie, it's like looking through a peephole," said Grozdanic.

"She used to walk right behind me when we'd go for a walk. She couldn't see and was scared," said Williams. "Now she wants to run ahead."

3-D picture of Alzheimer's peptide created

WALTHAM, Mass., May 13 (UPI) -- U.S. and German scientists say they've created a three-dimensional picture of an Alzheimer's disease peptide using electron microscopy.

Researchers at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and the Leibniz Institute in Jena, Germany, say their achievement is "an important step toward demystifying the role protein clumps play in the development of neurodegenerative disease."

The study marks the first time scientists have shown how A-beta peptides, found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, form a spaghetti-like protein mass called an amyloid fibril.

"This study is a significant advance regarding our understanding of how fibrils are built from the A-beta peptide," said co-author Nikolaus Grigorieff, a biophysicist at Brandeis University. "People have been guessing for decades what these fibrils look like, but now we have an actual 3D image."

In healthy people A-beta peptide doesn't aggregate, but in Alzheimer's patients it clumps first and then forms long fibrils, like tentacles, said Grigorieff. Scientists disagree whether it's the clumps that kill brain neurons or the fibrils. Grigorieff wants to discover which part of the amyloid structure is toxic -- a step necessary to designing drugs to prevent or treat the disease.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Phoenix mission ready for Mars landing

PASADENA, Calif., May 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says its Phoenix Lander is preparing to land on Mars and begin a three-month mission to examine the planet's soil and buried ice.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the lander is scheduled to touch down May 25 on Mars.

"This is not a trip to grandma's house," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Internationally, fewer than half (of similar) attempts have succeeded."

The space agency said Phoenix will enter the Martian atmosphere at nearly 13,000 mph. In seven minutes, the spacecraft must slow to about 5 mph before its three legs reach the ground. Confirmation of the landing could come as early as 7:53 p.m. EDT May 25, NASA said.

"The Phoenix mission not only studies the northern permafrost region but takes the next step in Mars exploration by determining whether this region, which may encompass as much as 25 percent of the Martian surface, is habitable," said Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory responsible for its management.