Cancer
MIT’s “Perfect Mirror” Technology Used To Shrink Tumor
by bethany on Nov.20, 2008, under Cancer
Medical lasers are like science fiction heat rays that can vaporize tumors. The problem has been getting the lasers to where they are needed inside the body while protecting healthy tissue.
Now “perfect mirror” technology, developed by MIT researchers, is being used to shoot a laser through a spaghetti-thin, flexible fiber to attack tumors and other diseased tissue in highly targeted, minimally invasive surgery.
OmniGuide fiber, licensed through MIT’s Technology Licensing Office, scored a world first at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston last October when thoracic surgeon Dr. Raphael Bueno used it to shrink a patient’s cancerous lung tumor by 90 percent. Although carbon dioxide lasers have been used for more than 30 years to surgically remove diseased tissue in the throat, larynx, intestines and elsewhere, there was no easy way to get the lasers inside the body. Extensive surgery was required.
Virus Strain Reportedly 10,000 Times More Effective At Destroying Cancer Than Traditional Chemotherapeutic Agents
by andreas on Nov.01, 2008, under Cancer
Researchers at the Scripps Institute Have Uncovered The Structure of the Senecavirus
Several years ago, the biotechnology firm Neotropix discovered the Senecavirus, a pathogen that is harmless to humans but capable of infecting some types of solid tumors. The company claims that the virus has been shown to exhibit cancer-destroying properties 10,000 times greater than those of traditional chemotherapeutic agents.
Recent research has found that the three-dimensional structure of the virus is unique, confirming its status as a new genus. According to associate professor Vijay Reddy of the Scripps Research Institute, the virus is entirely different than other picornaviruses such as the poliovirus and the rhinovirus family, which is responsible for the common cold. By understanding the virus’s structure, the researchers hope to learn how it works and to use it to treat cancer. Neotrophix is already studying the use of the virus to treat lung cancer.
