I found this article about a university in Montreal research into fighting cancer cells quite fascinating. With the research and developing the university did, they were able to create flagellated bacteria (self propelled) that can travel through the blood stream and target cancer tumors. Once at the cancer cell the nanorobotic will then located an oxygen depleted section and deliver the medicine. This greatly eliminates the need to expose the whole body to chemotherapy. This new and innovated way to fighting cancer is just one step closer to potentially ending cancer. As someone who has lost a family member to cancer and I hope that there are new potential ways to finding and fighting cancer. The nanorobotic bug has mobility and precision to find and attack the cancer cell, and what I hope is for ways to help patients to be diagnosed sooner and get treatment faster. My family member went from doctor to doctor looking for reasons for his illness, until the moment the cancer was found, but by then not even chemotherapy made a different. -D.D.
I do want to provide the link to the article incase any one wants to read it as well. -D.D.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/08/15/legions_of_nanorobots_target_cancerous_tumors_with_precision.html
I find this research very interesting because the cure for cancer has not been solved. The flagellated bacteria sounds as though it could completely eliminate chemotherapy for some patients. I feel very intrigued that a nano robotic can locate an oxygen depleted cell. This new way of fighting cancer I feel may save many lives across the world. A.M
ReplyDeleteHow did the Montreal University come up with this research? I am asking this question because I know the cure for cancer has been a trending topic for years. The fact that this self propelled bacteria could work makes me question how long the Montreal University has been working on this and what steps they took to get to this point. A.M
ReplyDeleteThe article never mention how long the university was working on the research, but the research was published to a prestigious journal "Nature Nanotechnology" under the title of "Magneto-aerotactic bacteria deliver drug containing nanoliposomes to tumour hypoxic regions." It did make mention to the successfully administered of the nanorobotic agents to mice. From your other post, as far as being able to detect the oxygen depleted cell, which was referred to as hypoxic zones, it stated it detect it in a "wholly autonomous fashion. The hypoxic zones is created by the substantial consumption of oxygen by rapidly proliferative tumour cells, that those zones are known to be resistant to therapies." My understanding of these statements implies that maybe they attached receptors or even enzymes that only reacts to those zones so that the nanorobot are able to moved to those cell and thus deliver the medication.
DeleteForgot my initials. - D.D.
DeleteThe idea behind a new and improved way to fight cancer intrigues me. I have seen a number of friends and family experience Chemotherapy. For many it worked but the process nearly destroyed their lives and left them fatigued and very vulnerable. If this is a new means of fighting cancer without the same side effects as chemo this is a huge step towards solving the problem of cancer.
ReplyDelete-K.M.
Have they been able to test this new treatment on anyone or anything? If so, what were the results? J. RYAN
ReplyDeleteThe article said they tested the nanorobots on mice, and since they are publishing an article, I'm assuming that the tests went well. However, like all things in science, further research will need to be done to see if these same results can be produced. I'm sure eventually they will test other animals and see how it does with them, and then if the ethics committees allow it, we might see some human tests as well.
DeleteMatt N.
This is exactly like a TV show I used to watch called arrow. The CEO of a company is dying and he is cured by having little robots injected into his bloodstream that he created to cure him. When I watched that, it seemed like an impossible and far-fetched treatment. That is absolutely crazy to me that this exact treatment is already being created and studied. That would be incredible if the human race could find a better way to fight cancer that chemotherapy. -Chad B
ReplyDeleteAre these nanorobots reusable? this doesnt seem like a very cost effective treatment to me. You definitely could not use nanorobots in different patients unless there was a way to sanitize them completely, which with electronics is very hard to do. KH
ReplyDeleteI would assume that they are not reusable. In fact, they might either lay dormant in the host, or are excreted out, so I doubt there would even be a way to retrieve them if they wanted to reuse them.
DeleteMatt N.
So the nanorobots are flagellated bacteria? That would be incredibly interested if they were able to figure out a way to design a bacteria to target cancer and apply treatment through the bacteria itself. Im sure there would be vast medical benefits. After taking a course in microbio, we learned a bit about bioweapons and how microbes have been weaponized for whatever reason. It would be interesting if they could do the reverse of that - maybe aerosolizing a cure for cancer and spreading it across a city for mass application. All interesting thoughts.
ReplyDeleteR.T.
I think this article is very interesting because of how this research could eliminate chemotherapy. How expensive is the procedure mentioned above? How are the nanorobots made?
ReplyDelete--A.S.
Nanobots are an incredible addition to biotechnology, but also pose the question as to whether or not they will attack any mutated or potentially cancerous cells as well? Is there a way to test the potency/saturation- as in if there's a clump of cancerous cells to be attacked, or will it be individual?
ReplyDeleteHW