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Biotechnology Research involves the manipulation of organic materials -- cells, tissues, and even living organisms -- and offers many exciting possibilities for the future, from organic computers to improved aquaculture. Commercial space research has resulted in a number of significant successes, including:

Brain tumors can be one of the most difficult types of cancer to treat. Improvements by Wisconsin-based Quantum Devices, Inc., in the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) developed for ASTROCULTUREô have helped advance photodynamic therapy. ASTROCULTUREô is a commercial plant research facility developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics, a Commercial Space Center. Photodynamic therapy is a method used to destroy the tumor without damaging the delicate brain tissue around it. The LEDs, which remain cool to the touch for hours even though they can produce up to several times the energy of the Sun in the wavelengths at which they operate, are used in conjunction with light sensitive chemotherapy drugs for this process. Since the LED unit can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a laser, this work has helped reduce the cost of treatment while making it more effective. In addition, the LEDs seem to be able to stimulate the growth of tissues to aid in the healing of wounds, and investigations into this effect are underway.

A special optical detector developed by the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center Commercial Space Center may offer the hope of sight to people with a variety of eye problems. The detector is designed to be implanted on the back wall of the eye to replace natural sensors damaged by disease or accident. It converts light into electrical signals in much the same way as rods and cones do in a healthy eye, and the impulses are then picked up by the optic nerve. Preliminary testing has been successful and efforts at commercial development are underway.

In May 1998, a telescience support system located in a camp site at the base of Mt. Everest, was used to diagnose members of the Everest Extreme expedition team who were suffering from a number of medical ailments. In another instance this year, a remote surgery unit in the mountainous jungle of Ecuador consulted throughout a surgical procedure with physicians associated with the Center for Medical Informatics and Technology, a Commercial Space Center, thousands of miles away.

A cancer drug, Proleukin, developed by Chiron Corporation and supported by collaborative research with NASA's BioServe Space Technologies Commercial Space Center has been approved by the FDA for use in treatment of bladder cancer and metastatic melanoma. In addition, it is being used in human clinical trials to test its effectiveness as an adjunct treatment for AIDS.

Bone loss from accident or illness is a serious problem, especially given that current bone replacements can end up being replaced multiple times over the lifetime of a patient. Ceramic-metal composites are one possible treatment and, unlike many conventional therapies, are highly porous. The Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space Commercial Space Center has successfully synthesized this product using Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS) reactions.

Myotrophin has been submitted by Chiron Corporation as a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for use as a treatment of a neural degenerative disease. The company is also evaluating it as a potential treatment for skeletal disorders, since flight research in collaboration with BioServe Space Technologies has demonstrated its effectiveness in preventing the reduction of bone formation that results from spaceflight.