Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Space to Exercise
In order to prevent bone loss and muscle atrophy in space, astronauts exercise on treadmills equipped with a loading harness. This terrestrial version of that equipment uses air pressure to lift the body, reducing strain and minimizing impact on the legs. A former NASA Ames Research Center engineer, Dr. Robert Whalen, invented a treadmill that he licensed to a Menlo Park, Calif. company, Alter-G, Inc. The company's G-Trainer is an enclosed treadmill that uses air pressure to help patients feel up to 80-percent lighter, easing discomfort during rehabilitation.

Environmental Sample Processor
Researchers at the Center for Microbial Research and Education have given life to the study of the ecological relationship of marine microbe species, detecting harmful or toxic microbes, and the exploration of other extreme water environments. The Center comprises researchers from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LNNL), NOAA/National Ocean Service Marine Biotoxins Laboratory, and other partners who have refined and applied MBARI's environmental sample processor (ESP).

The researchers have found an alternative to determining the identity and genomic potential, which previously required a time-consuming and offsite laboratory analysis. The ESP uses DNA and protein array techniques, along with quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques, to sense microbial community structure, and to remotely detect specific genes and gene products within an ocean-observing network. The ESP also archives samples for further analysis once the device is recovered and returned to land. Data gained from ESP research will likely help scientists improve their understanding of Earth's oceanic processes, many of which are strongly influenced by microbial communities.

NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring the Planets (ASTEP) program hopes to develop instruments to detect life in outer space, and ESP is a candidate for this f use. MBARI and LLNL awarded licenses to Spyglass, a small privately held business in San Francisco, and the Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the first commercial unit.

Developing and Facilitating Commercialization of Fruit and Vegetable Films
The demand for a wide range of nutritious, healthy, and good-tasting food wrappings has been filled by the Department of Agriculture's Dr. Tara McHugh. Dr. McHugh has developed 100% fruit and vegetable films that can be used to package or present other healthy foods, such as fish, oatmeal and cottage cheese, that are shelf-stable, tasty, and economical. The technology has been licensed to Origami Foods, a startup company that recently opened a factory employing six people in economically depressed Stockton, California. Origami's sales are quickly expanding, and the American public can now obtain the products at Costco, Trader Joe's, and Wegmans stores. The films are also being used by chefs in restaurants across the country. A patent application was filed on the resulting inventions and, in the spring of 2009, Origami Foods was granted an exclusive license for the technology.