January 22, 2015

The International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

UCLA scientists researching bone-loss prevention strategies are set to begin trail that will ultimately see rodents sent up to the International Space Station.

The research team said they hope their work will lead to better treatment strategies for osteoporosis, more efficient methods of bone repair and ways to prevent bone loss during lengthy space travel.

With grant funding provided by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the UCLA study will focus on the efficacy of a molecule called NELL-1 in causing stem cells to trigger bone growth and halt bone degeneration.

NELL-1 holds tremendous hope,not onlyforpreventing bone lossbutone day even restoringhealthy bone, said team member Dr. Kang Ting,a professorin dentistryat UCLA. For patients who are bed-bound and suffering from bone loss, it could be life-changing.

The UCLA team will mostly be responsible for performing ground-based rodent trials of NELL-1, while NASA and CASIS will take responsibility for trials conducted aboard the ISS.

A group of 40 rodents will be sent to the International Space Station US National Laboratory onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, where they will live for two months in a microgravity environment during the first ever test of NELL-1 in space, said Julie Robinson,NASAs chief scientist for the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center.

The space-based studies will enable the examination of NELL-1 in way that would not be possible on Earth, the researchers said.

Continue reading here:

Growing bone in space: UCLA, CASIS, NASA team up to test stem cells and bone degeneration