Tiny capsule effectively kills cancer cells

[DavidDvorkin]

In a new study, published online Feb. 1 in the peer-reviewed journal Nano Today, a group led by Yi Tang, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, reports developing tiny shells composed of a water-soluble polymer that safely deliver a protein complex to the nucleus of cancer cells to induce their death. The shells, which at about 100 nanometers are roughly half the size of the smallest bacterium, degrade harmlessly in non-cancerous cells.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uoc--tce020613.php

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[green for victory]

2. Natural product does the same thing

THC kills cancer cells too

The feds knew in 1974

Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew in '74
In 1974 researchers learned that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, shrank or destroyed brain tumors in test mice. But the DEA quickly shut down the study and destroyed its results, which were never replicated -- until now.
May 30, 2000 |

The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February, 2000 when researchers in Madrid announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

http://www.alternet.org/story/9257/pot_shrinks_tumors%3B_government_knew_in_'74

Active Ingredient in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells
Experts say finding worth further study, but patients shouldn't light up just yet

WEDNESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- New research out of Spain suggests that THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- appears to prompt the death of brain cancer cells.

The finding is based on work with mice designed to carry human cancer tumors, as well as from an analysis of THC's impact on tumor cells extracted from two patients coping with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer.

Explaining that the introduction of THC into the brain triggers a cellular self-digestion process known as "autophagy," study co-author Guillermo Velasco said his team has isolated the specific pathway by which this process unfolds, and noted that it appears "to kill cancer cells, while it does not affect normal cells."

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2009/04/01/active-ingredient-in-marijuana-kills-brain-cancer

You can't patent a plant, that's why the Feds patented the use of Cannabinoids, the main ingredient in Pot

while they were busting legal dispensaries in CA

Feds To Grant Exclusive Cannabinoid License To Pharma Firm

[RandiFan1290]

4. Amen!

http://phoenixtears.ca/

[el_bryanto]

3. That's interesting - hope it pans out. nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

5. The cancer treatment centers and drug companies won't let that happen

They'd lose their gravy train.

[BlueStreak]

6. They could charge a fortune for this stuff

The article does not say it is expected to be 100% effective, only that it has some promise of being MORE effective. Drug companies are always happy to churn products, especially when the new products are more and more exotic (tr: expensive).

And really, Americans live such unhealthy lifestyles nobody in any pharma company is worried about running out of sick people.