San Diego student develops red-light therapy to help heal wounds in space

An 18-year-old San Diego student has been named a finalist in the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search for developing a low-cost red-light treatment to improve wound healing in microgravity. Leanne Fan built a $200 device to simulate microgravity and found that the treatment accelerated tissue regeneration in flatworms by 95.2%. Tests with human cells also showed faster cell movement during wound closure.