High-Powered NASA Grow-Light Reduces Chemotherapy Side Effects
WARP 75 lamp eases pain A powerful NASA-developed grow lamp designed for the space shuttle can ease a debilitating side effect of cancer treatment, according to a new study. That's directly from the lamp itself, not because it is used to grow medicinal plants. The treatment is under review by the Food and Drug Administration. The technology is called High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or "HEALS," and in a clinical trial, it used the equivalent energy of a dozen suns to alleviate a condition called oral mucositis, essentially mouth and throat sores. Patients who take chemo drugs have a high incidence of mucositis, which can be so painful that they can't eat solid foods. HEALS was initially developed as a plant growth chamber for shuttle missions. It uses LEDs that emit long wavelengths of light, stimulating cells to grow (or to aid in healing). The LEDs emit plenty of photons, but no...