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Nanomedicine Kills Brain Cancer Cells

Posted by Soulskill on from the take-two-nanites-and-call-me-in-the-morning dept.

destinyland writes "Scientists from the University of Chicago and the US Department of Energy have developed the first nanoparticles that seek out and destroy GMB brain cancer cells. Nanoparticles killed up to 80% of the brain cancer cells after just five minutes of exposure to white light, showing the promise of nanomedicine — highly-specific intervention at the molecular scale. Because nanomedicine could repair brain cells or damaged nerve and muscle tissue, the NIH has established eight Nanomedicine Development Centers around the country for their Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative. Researchers have also used gold nanospheres to search out and 'cook' skin cancer cells with light — 'It's basically like putting a cancer cell in hot water and boiling it to death,' says one researcher. And the NIH Roadmap ultimately predicts 'novel tiny sensors ... that search for, and destroy, infectious agents.'"

5 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Side effects by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nanoparticles killed up to 80% of the brain cancer cells after just five minutes of exposure to white light

    Side effects may include death of 80% of non-cancer cells.

    1. Re:Side effects by elashish14 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Usually in these cases, the particles are surface-activated to only attach to cancer cells. What this means is that cancer cells typically have unique antigens on the surface and the nanoparticles are treated to bind only to them. And since proteins are very picky when they pick what other things they bond to, there's a low chance that it will find another cell with similar morphology to attach to. Then again, considering how diverse and extensive the body is, I'm sure that there's a chance that it could find some other cell to bind to; but that's purely a statistical argument, I'm not referencing any biological data on that front.

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    2. Re:Side effects by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

      Here you go.

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  2. Re:Exploit by wizardforce · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why bother with using advanced technology like this when the school system already does that? :)

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  3. Just great... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... that seek out and destroy GMB brain cancer cells ...

    Wish they had things like this when my wife was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme four years ago. One afternoon, six weeks after diagnosis, she said she was sleepy. We said "I love you" and shared a kiss before she fell asleep. Later that afternoon, swelling around the tumor herniated her brain stem. She never woke up and died in my arms one week later. Twenty years together. I miss her every day and I don't think I'll ever recover.

    Love the people in your life like there's no tomorrow. (We were lucky.)

    P.S. For you Googlers, the more common abbreviation is GBM.

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