Nanotech and cancer: more encouraging results

From the BBC, on work by Stanford’s Hongjie Dai: “Nanotechnology has been harnessed to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. The technique works by inserting microscopic synthetic rods called carbon nanotubules into cancer cells. When the rods are exposed to near-infra red light from a laser they heat up, killing the cell, while cells without rods are left unscathed.” More detailed coverage is given in an article from the San Jose Mercury News: “So far, it has been tested only in individual cells, not in animals or people. The approach is at least three to four years away from clinical testing in patients, Dai said.”