NASA to collaborate with Indian bio-medical Industry

National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), USA, is looking for collaboration with Indian Industries in order to transfer its spin-off technologies, especially in the bio-medical field, for the benefit of the common man, a NASA scientist has said here. "NASA is working on nano-biotechnologies for the astronauts who will undertake manned Mars Mission 30 years from now," Dr Robert W Mah, director, smart systems Research Laboratory, Ames Research Centre of NASA in California, said here yesterday. He was addressing the researchers from the Indian pharmaceutical industry at the first World Congress on "nano-biotechnology". As the scientists had found that the astronauts were likely to suffer with bone loss 10 times more than normal (loss of calcium), risk of fracture, painful kidney stones, motion sickness (confusing signals sent to brain), back pain, muscle atrophy, fluid shifts, eye injuries and other diseases like breast cancer, NASA has taken up projects to solve these problems, Mah said. Some of technologies of NASA include CNT microscopy for better imaging (which is already commercialised in US) nano-based gene sequencing technique, nono-biosensors currently used by National Cancer Institute in US), nanotubes, nano mechanics, smart tools for virtual treatment and suggestive probes, he said. Few US companies, which have Indian base have already come forward to collaborate with NASA in promoting technologies developed by NASA, he added. NASA began its Nano-biotechnology work in 1997 and has 50 Scientists working. (Ref : Economic Times June 23, 2004)