Discovery Tech explores how nanotechnology can be harnessed to find and treat cancer.
Nanotechnology offers potential for detecting and treating cancer without altering healthy cells. That means targeted death for cancerous tumors without the negative side effects of conventional therapies, like chemotherapy and radiation. We'll take a look at some of these methods and also explore the risks and promises of this new scientific field.
- Top 10: Ways Nanotechnology Battles Cancer
There's a new set of nanotechnology tools to battle cancer that are so small, you can't see them. But these nanoparticles could help fight cancer cells, while at the same reducing the negative impact traditional treatments have on patients.
- News: Hollow Gold Nanospheres Burn Tumors
Hollow gold nanospheres that actively search for and burn tumors could prove particularly effective against malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer responsible for around 48,000 deaths worldwide each year.
- Video: Nanotech Risk
Jorge Ribas talks with Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, about the risks of nanotechnology.
- Video: Nanotechnology Promise
Nanotechnology's potential benefits come in the spotlight as Jorge Ribas talks with Andrew Maynard, chief science adviser for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Story link coming soon.
- Puzzle: Nanoparticles in Action
Cancer-fighting nanoparticles find and attack tumors, a treatment that one day may eliminate the need for chemotherapy.
- IM Interview: Nano Swat Teams Kill Cancer
Tracy Staedter chats with Geoffrey von Maltzahn, who builds networks of artificial nanoparticles that communicate with each other to find cancer cells and destroy them.
- My Take: Nanotech Tests Not All the Same
Nanoparticles include many molecular types that differ significantly in their properties -- even within the same class of material. For this reason, each nanoparticle should be considered on a case-by-case basis, and scientists should be cautious about making generalizations.
- Blog: Can Nanotech Be Green?
From water purifying sytems to self-cleaning glass, Alyssa Danigelis explores innovative ways scientists are putting nanotechnology to eco-friendly use.
- TreeHugger: Nano Silver in Your Underwear?
Nano-scale materials are now being widely used in industry without major research available about the both the environmental and safety risks some of the materials may pose. Read the story at Treehugger.com.
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