Have We Found the Answer to Cancer?

Summary of "Catching the early spread of breast cancer" by the American Chemical Society

The ACS recently reported a breakthrough discovery about the diagnosis of breast cancer. Usually, when someone has cancer and begins to notice the symptoms, it has already spread from its primary location. Using a recently developed technology called "nano-flares," cancer cells can be detected far in advanced. These research of this technology began in the 1990s, when "spherical nucleic acid" was invented. SNAs are composed of tiny strands of DNA with a gold nano-particle core. Chad Mirkin, a Ph.D working to develop this detector, says, "[We've taken] DNA, rearranged it into a spherical shape and modified it to detect specific molecules inside cells. These structures naturally enter cells and light up when they detect disease-causing molecules." He continues to speak about how these nano-flares could completely change how breast cancer is diagnosed, and that the next step of this technology is using these particles to sample live cancer cells and see what therapies they respond to. With more research, these nano-flares could be the answer to finding the cancer early on, and could lead to further advanced within cancer research (American Chemical Society, 2014).

When I first stumbled upon this article, I was astounded. The fact that technology has advanced this far is incredible. These breakthroughs in research are what truly change the world. It makes me curious about where we are advancing in the future. Wherever that may be, I am certain, however, that the outcome of further studies like this will change life as we know it.

References

American Chemical Society (ACS). (2014, March 19). Catching the early spread of breast cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 9, 2014 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140319124526.htm