OsteoOmics OPS in MSG

iss051e036140 (5/3/2017) --- A view inside the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) where Commander Peggy Whitson works to change the media in a BioCell for the OsteoOmics experiment. Image was taken in the Destiny U.S. Laboratory. Gravitational Regulation of Osteoblast Genomics and Metabolism (OsteoOmics) aims to validate if magnetic levitation is a reasonable simulation of orbital free fall by measuring biological endpoints, such as signaling pathways and gene expression in osteoblast and osteoclast cells. Cells are exposed to a microgravity environment and ground based cells are exposed to magnetic levitation. If the validation is successful, then ground-based magnetic levitation will be an important ground-based tool to investigate the effect of gravitational force on biological systems.