Nanotechnology......just like Star Trek


Three prostate cancer cells have taken up fluorescently labeled nanoparticles (shown in red). The cells' nuclei and cytoskeletons are stained blue and green, respectively.

Similarly designed targeted nanoparticles containing a chemotherapeutic drug are capable of getting inside cancer cells and releasing a lethal dose of the drug and eradicating tumors.








It's funny how so many things that have been used by the writers of Star Trek had come to be common place....the communicator (cell phone), Tricorders ( Palm pilots/Blackberrys) and the ever present computer. Now we are seeing another one....nanotechnology. These are small(microscopic) particles and appliances that can be injected into a patient to treat a specific disease. I read a great site, Technology Review from MIT that is definately on the cutting edge and has a report on Nano's being used in the treatment of Prostate cancer. "To make the nanoparticles, the researchers mix together a prostate cancer drug (docetaxel) and polymers that are already FDA-approved (one of them is used for sutures). The polymer formed spheres with the drugs trapped within. The researchers then chemically attach pieces of RNA, called aptamers, to the surface of the spheres. The RNA folds into shapes that fit into complementary structures on the surface of prostate-cancer cells." The promising thing about this form of treatment is that it has the potential for a single treatment with minimal side effects. Since the drug is taken into the cell it releases it's effect only on that cell , also using specific RNA allows it to be targeted for only one type of cancer cell. This is great news for those that suffer from prostate cancer ( my father being among this group) as well as many others who could benefit from it's potential. This is something that is coming and will have major impacts on the future in more than just medicine.
It's worth watching.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Purina feed recall announced-Aflatoxin confirmed

Image
There have been several horse show signs of acute liver dysfunction recently while eating Purina feeds. The company seems to have jumped on this quickly and found an aflatoxin (mold toxin) contamination from one of their suppliers. It only affects 3 of their plants and the North eastern United States.The following states are under the recall, Connecticut; Delaware; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; More info on Aflatoxins can be found HERE . " Aflatoxins are potent toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, immunosuppressive agents, produced as secondary metabolites by the fungus Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus on variety of food products. Among 18 different types of aflatoxins identified, major members are aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is normally predominant in amount in cultures as well as in food products. Pure AFB1 is pale-white to yellow crystalline, odorless so...
Read more

How Horses could help fight "BIRD FLU"

Image
Horse serum has been used for years as a souce of "gamma globulins" (anti-bodies) for many species including man. Now a group of scientists in China are using antibody fragments from horses to fight the H5N1 virus. "The researchers included Jiahai Lu, PhD, of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. They're among experts worldwide working on bird flu treatments." The article is in MedicineNet.com and was written by Miranda Hitti from WebMD. "First, the scientists prepared H5N1 virus in hen's eggs. Next, they immunized horses to make antibodies to H5N1. Lu and colleagues took fragments of those antibodies, mixed them with H5N1 virus, and then spread the mixture on plates holding dog cells. Dog cells were only exposed to H5N1 or the horse antibody fragments. For comparison, other dog cells were left alone, without either H5N1 or the horse antibodies' fragments. The researchers checked on the dog cells every day for the next five...
Read more

Headshaking Syndrome....Just the facts

Image
( angelfire cartoons ) Just to set the record straight....this is a SYNDROME. That means it is a condition with multiple potential causes that has a unique set of symptoms. In this case the symptom is head shaking, this is either horizontal, vertical or rotary and frequently resembles a nervous twitch. Sometimes this is so uncontrollable that the behavior becomes almost manic and dangerous. Over the years many different causes have been attibuted to causing head shaking syndrome, including (1) ear mites (2) allergic rhinitis (3) ocular disease (4) Trigeminal neuritis (5) dental disease and (6) photic headshaking. One, from the fever swamps of the internet , links it to vaccines ( see my previous post about my thoughts on holistics) One older study noted that these horses were frequently over 8 years of age, Throughbred or Warm Blood, owned by 40+ year old women used for hunter/jumper or dressage. Additional studies have linked this to the time of year (seasonal) and most recently, to b...
Read more