WORCESTER, MASS. \u2014 This cold, dry winter is leaving many of us with flaky, dry skin. <\/p>\n
A Worcester scientist is on a mission to help ease the harsh effects of winter by creating a skin care line using an organism that survived the harshest of conditions in outer space.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be standing here working on cosmetics in my life,\u201d said Dr. Kyle Landry, the President and Co-Founder of Delavie Sciences. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Dr. Kyle Landry went from the food science field, to biodefense, and then space. But in his time working with NASA, he made an out of this world discovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NASA scientists were like, hey, Kyle, we have this really cool organism that when put outside of the space stations for 18 months survived,\u201d said Dr. Landry. \u201cDo you want to see if you can create anything from it?\u201d<\/p>\n
After studying it for a year and a half, Dr. Landry learned even though the organism was bombarded by radiation while in space, it was able to protect itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we discovered that it activates things called sirtuins,\u201d said Dr. Landry. \u201cSirtuins are these enzymes, they\u2019re ancient enzymes that help repair and protect your cells. So it actually helps minimize and prevent the formation of wrinkles at the cellular level. And so we decided to make a product from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Landry, along with his team of research and development scientists, grow the organisms in a lab in Worcester.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the actual bacteria that we use to create the ingredients in our products,\u201d Dr. Landry showed. <\/p>\n
Then he works with several companies to bring it up to scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis line here is our Aeonia line,\u201d said Dr. Landry. \u201cThis highlights the bacillus lysate ingredient. All of them are certified space technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delavie, which is French for \u2018from life,\u2019 is a skincare collection that features the patented ingredient. It is also the first cosmetic company to have a certified space technology ingredient that helps promote skin longevity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my pride and joy, this organism,\u201d said Dr. Landry. <\/p>\n
Dr. Landry also discovered a fungus in a forest of western Massachusetts that grows at about 130 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe basically go where the boundaries of life are pushed because we believe those organisms hold the key,\u201d said Dr. Landry. <\/p>\n
This fungus helped create a second patented ingredient in collaboration with Harvard that\u2019s used in other Delavie products. And Dr. Landry is continuing to follow the journey that science is taking him on to expand the Delavie line and create new innovations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s led to all the crazy discoveries we have here because we\u2019re not limited to thinking, oh, we can only do this,\u201d said Dr. Landry. \u201cWe\u2019re like, what can\u2019t we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Landry also found an organism 5,000 feet underground that produces a compound to protect against UVB radiation, which is what can cause skin cancer. He\u2019s currently working to develop an ingredient that he hopes will be added to sunscreens.<\/p>\n
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. <\/p>\n
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n