High school students to launch biology research into space

— -- When the next Space-X rocket is launched on Saturday, the research of two Kentucky high school students will be on its way to outer space.

The research, conducted by students Will Casto and Danielle Gibsonon with a biology professor, focuses on what effect microgravity will have on the smooth muscle cells in rat hearts. Microgravity has been a part of space research since the first International Space Station expeditions.

Their community in the Appalachian Kentucky has a high rate of hypertension, or high blood pressure, which can be associated with heart problems. They hope this research will provide some new insights into what affects the conditions.

"If we get a set of raw data, the end goal is to see what changes and what happens," Gibson said.

"When they first approached me, I was hesitant" said Dr. Michael Fultz, their research mentor and a biology professor at Morehead State University. "But, Will and Danielle hit it off right away. They are go-getters and they are a pleasure to work with."

Dr. Carol Christian, Director of The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a high school on the Morehead campus where the two study, stressed how proud they are of their students and that the research has "exceeded expectations."

The two intrepid teenagers hope to see their research through until the summer -- that is, if the experiment on board the rocket survives through launch.

But, their ambitions stretch much further into the future.

"The end goal would be to end up in medical school studying oncology," Casto said, "because cancer rates are very high in the community where I am from."

Gibson hopes to pursue a career in biomedicine.

"This gives me a lot of hope," she said. "If I can do this at seventeen what else can I do?"