The mouse that soared *

As Discovery astronauts readjusted to earth's gravity, scientists at JPL in La Canada Flintridge (yes, despite Pasadena datelines, the research facility isn't actually there) levitated some unhappy mice. From Reuters:

Jet Propulsion Laboratory physicist Yuanming Liu said in an interview on Thursday that the mice were levitated using a device called a no gravity simulator, which is powered by a superconducting gradient magnet.

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"By levitating mice we can simulate similar conditions and we can study whether bone loss will actually occur in mice, and that will help us understand more about the bone loss that might occur in astronauts," he said.

Less than thrilled with their weightless state, the mice had to be sedated.

More observations on the experiments from PopularScience.com and Switched.

Next up -- X-ray vision.

*Fixed for JPL location