NASA has scheduled more commercial experiments for upcoming Space Station expeditions. This fall, BioServe will fly an experiment in collaboration with Amgen, a biotech company based in Thousand Oaks, Calf. The experiment will examine the effects of a naturally occurring compound, Osteoprotegerin, on the high rate of bone loss observed in microgravity. Amgen scientists discovered Osteprotegerin and want to investigate its uses as a new treatment for osteoporosis. Guign is building a payload to be flown aboard the Space Station.
Containers draw off the heat and change the material's structure.
Inside the Space Station, the low-gravity lets us suspend the material so it doesn't touch the container walls. Guign and the company's partner Commercial Space Center are interested in creating more durable glass ceramic materials for items such as electronics, insulation for jet engines, fiber optic lines, dental crowns, and furnaces.