The ISS National Lab and Seeker Featured at California Academy of Sciences NightLife Event
Media Credit: Seeker
Later this evening, the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) U.S. National Laboratory and popular science content publisher Seeker will join the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for one of their “NightLife” events at the museum. The space-focused NightLife event will feature a discussion between ISS National Lab Associate Program Scientist Dr. Liz Warren and Maren Hunsberger, biologist and host of Seeker science shows. The two will talk about current and future experiments on the ISS National Lab and how findings from such research influences our future both on Earth and on future missions beyond our planet.
The ISS is currently humanity’s “home away from home”—the only platform where humans can live in and conduct research in space. Knowledge gained from ISS National Lab research is not only important for future space missions, it also provides valuable benefits to people back on Earth. For example, SpaceX’s recent 17th commercial resupply services mission delivered a variety of tissue chipA tissue chip, or organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological system, is a small engineered device containing human cells and growth media to model the structure and function of human tissues and/or organs. Using tissue chips in microgravity, researchers can study the mechanisms behind disease and test new treatments for patients on Earth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a multiyear partnership with the ISS National Laboratory® to fund tissue chip research on the space station. investigations to the space station. Results from space-based tissue chip research could provide a better understanding of disease and aid in the development of treatments on Earth. It could also provide important information about astronaut health in space, which is crucial as we continue to strive toward longer-duration spaceflight missions.
NightLife events usually attract around 2,000 young professionals, many of whom work in the tech industry and have a genuine interest in science. NASA’s Ames Center for Exoplanet Studies will also participate in tonight’s NightLife event, showcasing the center’s efforts in advancing exoplanet (planets outside our solar system) observations, theory, technology, and missions.
This is the second year that Seeker and the ISS National Lab have participated in a NightLife event. At last year’s event, Warren and Hunsberger discussed tissue engineering research on the ISS National Lab and advancements in the field of regenerative medicine.
The ISS National Lab and Group Nine Media, Seeker’s parent company, have been working together as part of an ongoing partnership that features ISS National Lab content on Seeker platforms. Seeker is the #1 most engaging science publisher on social media and is considered one of the top 5 most viewed science and tech brands on social media. This year, Group Nine Media was named to Fast Company’s 2019 list of the world’s most innovative companies in social media.