The Uute Scientific substance, Reconnecting Nature™, can be added into skin cream or integrated into fabric to enhance the proper function of the human immune system. The first consumer products with the substance were launched in mid-October 2020.
Due to urbanisation Diabetes 1, allergies, asthma, and other immune-mediated diseases have become a large problem worldwide. Scientists have proven that they are to a degree caused by people moving away from nature and being less in contact with its microbial diversity. This has weakened the immune system.
For example, recent results from Russian Karelia and Finland, separated by a land border, suggest that environmental factors have greatly contributed to the increasing prevalence of immune‐mediated disorders. Infections, or rather lack of them, may be strongly involved in the development of both autoimmune and allergic diseases.
The important time for developing a properly functioning immune system is during childhood. However, if it is not possible to move to a more diverse environment or to adjust the urban lifestyle, it is possible to get the advantages of nature's microbial biodiversity another way, by applying Reconnecting Nature™, an extract from nature.
"The Reconnecting Nature™ substance includes diverse microbes from forest and agricultural environments, which aid in correcting the development of the immune system. It can come in the form of a very fine powder or have some other material shape," says Kari Sinivuori, CEO of Uute Scientific, a University of Helsinki spinout company.
The important thing to realise is that the substance is not taken orally - it is meant to be brought into contact with the skin. It can be mixed with or integrated into daily consumer products, such as fabrics and creams.
The first consumer products with the Reconnecting Nature™ substance are launched on 15 October. Finnish cosmetic companies Luonkos Finland Oy and Forest Pharmacy Oy are using the substance in their products.
Luonkos Finland Oy is launching Vitality Balancing Body Oil Cake and Infinity Facial Oil Cleansing Cake for their product portfolio. The products are hand-made in Finland and are plastic-free, chemical-free and zero-waste.
Moi Forest will launch Forest Dust Multipurpose Cream and Forest Dust Baby Cream. The products are made in Finland; they are Cosmos Organic certified, vegan and carbon neutral. For the packaging Moi Forest is using cardboard tubes (instead of plastic ones), that are a recent innovation made by Finnish company Stora Enso.
Firm based in research
The idea of a "biodiversity powder" can be traced back to at least three recent research projects or consortiums. Of these, ADELE (Autoimmune Defense and Living Environment) consortium employed 15 people at three universities in Finland.
Its follow-up project ADELE ecosystem of the University of Helsinki and Tampere University develops solutions to prevent the development of immune-mediated diseases. The PREVALL experiment is an intervention trial which aims to reduce the probability of allergy among small children using highly diverse microbiological inoculate originating in organic materials derived from nature.
The ImmunoGarden project, led by Aki Sinkkonen, aims to develop garden and landscaping materials that are scientifically proven to enhance the diverse and healthy microbial community on the skin, and aid in the development and normal functioning of the immune system.
The University of Helsinki supports the commercialisation of innovations made by its researchers - and students - by a range of means, with the aim of solving global problems and making the fruits of research broadly available to society.
Uute Scientific Ltd was established in accordance with the commercialisation rules and processes employed at the University of Helsinki. In commercialising their innovations, researchers are assisted by Helsinki Innovation Services (HIS), a company owned by the University.
