Definitive proof science is better than prayer

Atheistextremist
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Definitive proof science is better than prayer

Magnetic discs kill cancer

    TINY magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to kill cancer cells, according to a study.

    Laboratory tests found the so-called "nanodiscs", around 60 billionths of a metre thick, could be used to disrupt the membranes of cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct.

    The discs are made from an iron-nickel alloy, which move when subjected to a magnetic field, damaging the cancer cells, according to the study, published in Nature Materials yesterday.

    One of the study's authors, Elena Rozhlova of Argonne National Laboratory in the United States, said subjecting the discs to a low magnetic field for around ten minutes was enough to destroy 90 per cent of cancer cells in tests.

    In a commentary on the report, Jon Dobson of Keele University in Britain said antibodies could be used to direct the discs towards tumour cells.

    "This provides an elegant and rapid technique for targeting tumour destruction without the side effects associated with systemic treatments such as chemotherapy," Mr Dobson wrote.

    "Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck


    Watcher
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    Fundy's will just claim that

    Fundy's will just claim that god worked through the scientists that invented it.  Their logic is completely circular.  Much like any good imaginary tale from a schizophrenic.

    "I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci


    Stosis
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    90%? Don't make me laugh.

    90%? Don't make me laugh. Pray can kill 100% of cancer cells. And if it doesn't work its because you're not doing it right.


    Peppermint42
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    Aw that's awesome!  Is it

    Aw that's awesome!  Is it less expensive than chemo as well, or do they jack up the price on things that don't make you bald?  I guess it would take a special, expensive machine to get the magnets that small...  I'll have to do some googling now.  Are they going to put them in general practice or are they still in the prototype phase?


    Adventfred
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    Gallowsbait wrote:Aw that's


    Gallowsbait wrote:

    Aw that's awesome!  Is it less expensive than chemo as well, or do they jack up the price on things that don't make you bald?  I guess it would take a special, expensive machine to get the magnets that small...  I'll have to do some googling now.  Are they going to put them in general practice or are they still in the prototype phase?

     

     i was thinking the same 


    Eloise
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    Gallowsbait wrote:Aw that's

    Gallowsbait wrote:

    Aw that's awesome!  Is it less expensive than chemo as well, or do they jack up the price on things that don't make you bald? 

    It's a photocatalytic (light activated) process, so it will require an operation to get the light (at the required wavelength) into the right place to set off the cancer destroying process.

    Gallowsbait wrote:

    I guess it would take a special, expensive machine to get the magnets that small...  I'll have to do some googling now. 

    Not necessarily. What's a great thing about nanotech is that you don't necessarily have to cut things down to that scale, there are natural chemical processes we can exploit to create nanoparticles from the bottom up. 

    In this case the titanium dot is tethered to a common antibody that detects cancer cells so the host molecule is free and available where cancers are found cause your body makes it. And the titanium dioxide dots can be manufactured using chemical, as opposed to, mechanical methods.

     

    EDIT: OOps, My Bad I'm talking about a different molecule altogether than the one in the article. Still the principles are the same, the host molecule for the Iron-Nickel oxide would also be a cancer antibody, and the manufacture of Ferrite powders of nano size is achievable chemically.

    OTOH, the cancer killing process in the article AtheistExtremist posted is mechanical rather than chemical, and it's triggered by the magnetic properties of the iron, rather than by photocatalysis. In application it would require a machine to produce the magnetic field.

     

    Gallowsbait wrote:

    Are they going to put them in general practice or are they still in the prototype phase?

    At the moment it is still in the very early stages of development. If all goes well it should start being tested in the near future.

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    rdklep8
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    The problem with the first

    The problem with the first invention (the one atheist extremist showed) is that if there are no chemical properties taken into consideration, then there is no way the discs can differentiate between healthy cells and cancer cells.  They are really onto something though, as killing individual cells while keeping others unharmed is quite an accomplishment.  I think if there is some sort of combination of the first idea and eloise's (differentiating between cancer and healthy cells based on antibody formation), we could possibly be in business.

    I just feel that in 40 or 50 years people are going to look back at the way cancer is treated nowadays and marvel at just how barbaric it really is.