Here are six things to know:
1. Dr. Kacena’s study focuses on a bone-healing therapy, and the ideal testing ground is the International Space Station, where weightlessness may uncover the true potential of her method.
2. While it could aid healing for osteoporosis patients, care accident or gunshot vistims, Dr. Kacena’s main mission is helping soldiers recover from blast injuries.
3. Dr. Kacena said the number of soldiers suffering from blast injuries has increased significantly in the last decade and about 85 percent of those injuries are musculoskeletal. Soldiers with significant bone damage are likely bed-ridden for months or not bearing weight on an injured leg, making conventional treatments illogical.
4. Scheduled for liftoff on SpaceX 10 in the coming months, the study involves 40 mice and will compare a common therapy currently used for bone-healing to her drug. While conventional treatments utilize bone-forming cells, Dr. Kacena’s method takes a protein that stimulates blood cells that, in turn, stimulates bone cells, triggering the first stage of bone-healing.
5. The 30-day experiment marks the longest bone-healing study in space to date; a previous study lasted 14 days.
6. NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense are funding the study.
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