cancer

Crab dinner inspires cancer-removing robot

They say you can find inspiration anywhere, so why not a crab dinner?

Inspired by our crustacean friends, researchers in Singapore have created a mini robot that can be used to remove early-stage stomach cancer in a far less invasive way than other procedures. The robot has the ability to crawl down a patient's throat and features a pincer and hook that can remove cancerous tissue.

The idea first came up in 2004 when Lawrence Ho, an enterologist at Singapore's National University Hospital, and Louis Phee, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological Institute's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, had dinner with Hong Kong surgeon Sydney Chung, who is well-known for his fight against SARS.

While dining on Singapore's signature chili crab dish, Chung suggested the two use the crab as a prototype, making note of the strength of a crab's pincers and its ability to pick up sand. … Read more

Dumped, cancer-stricken man gives away Super Bowl tix via Twitter

"I have the cancer of a 95-year-old Jewish man."

That's how TV writer Jason Elia described his current physical condition to ESPN 97.5 radio in Houston.

It seems to be a condition that became a deal-breaker for his girlfriend, who, he says, left him because she didn't want to, well, deal with his bladder cancer-- even though he has an 87 per cent chance of survival.

He says that she was so compassion-free that she still wanted him to give her the Super Bowl tickets he had bought for them both. Well, he'd only … Read more

Proton promises us $1,000 genome mapping by year end

At CES, scientific-equipment giant Life Technologies unveiled a DNA sequencer designed to decode an entire human genome in a day for $1,000 by the end of 2012.

The Ion Proton Sequencer, priced at $149,000, isn't your typical hot commodity on the show floor. But the benchtop sequencer costs far less than its bulkier, slower predecessors (typically in the $500,000 to $750,000 range), and the $1,000 price tag--once costs fall to that level--could put personal gene sequencing directly into the hands of the masses.

"This is such an amazing moment in history," said … Read more

Photoacoustic device identifies cancer before tumors form

Early detection of skin cancer may soon be possible, thanks to researchers who compare their approach to looking for a black 18-wheeler in an eight-lane highway of white cars.

The new technique for melanoma detection, proposed by researchers at the University of Missouri, uses photoacoustics (laser-induced ultrasound) to find cancer cells before they form into tumors. Testing could cost just a few hundred dollars. The current method of detection, by comparison, requires waiting for tumors to form and can cost thousands of dollars.

"Using a small blood sample, our device and method will provide an earlier diagnosis for aggressive … Read more

'Star Wars' T-shirts stand up to cancer

With every possible entertainment entity from the NFL to M&Ms supporting cancer awareness with special themed events and products, there's no reason the Galactic Empire shouldn't get in on the act.

Stand Up to Cancer, the celebrity-driven charity, is teaming with Lucasfilm to raise research funds by selling four specially designed "cancer fighting" T-shirts with "Star Wars" themes.

Perhaps I should clarify that the shirts themselves have no particular medicinal qualities, but all hands hope the money they raise will continue the fight against all forms of the deadly disease. Each of the four shirts (featuring Darth Vader, Yoda, and Stormtroopers) sell for $24.95, with all proceeds going to SU2C. … Read more

A vaccine for breast, ovarian cancers?

Could a shot in the arm help destroy a growing tumor? That concept is looking more and more plausible.

Scientists have been investigating the potential of vaccines to prevent various types of cancer for several years. In 2010, one study found that a single vaccination prevented breast cancer tumors from forming in mice.

A team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology now is reporting in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that a vaccine might show promise in treating (as opposed to preventing) both metastatic breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Led by cancer … Read more

Scientists pleasantly 'shocked' by skills of Foldit gamers

It's not every day that a news item details the intelligence of the masses, lurking in the brains of unassuming passersby, just waiting to be uncovered for the greater good. But when it comes to the massively multiplayer online game Foldit, this is precisely the story, and it keeps getting better.

Launched in 2008 at the University of Washington, the protein folding game first made news for its potential to use the collective brainpower of gamers everywhere to unlock the fundamental mysteries of certain diseases. Then gamers began to prove this potential, solving various protein riddles that further our … Read more

Online calculator helps screen for cancer early

A nonprofit research database system called QResearch--which already screens for heart disease, kidney disease, and serious blood cots--is now introducing what look to be highly accurate lung and gastroesophageal cancer screenings as well.

The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk researchers behind the computer-based tool say that their findings, published this week in the British Journal of General Practice, indicate that 10 percent of the patients predicted to be most at risk of developing one of the cancers accounted for 77 percent of actual cancer diagnoses over the following two years.

Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr. … Read more

New algorithm speeds up MRI scans

Magnetic resonance imaging scanners produce images of the body using strong magnetic fields and radio waves to scan several images of the same area. By comparing these images, the scanner reveals even the most subtle abnormalities, such as young tumors.

Considering the nature of MRI scanners, it stands to reason that math might improve the time it takes to get and compare these images.

Electrical engineers and computer scientists at MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics thought so, and they are publishing an algorithm they have devised that speeds scanning time threefold, reducing the amount of time someone would have … Read more

Jobs regrets postponing surgery, has secret transplant

The pancreatic cancer that killed Steve Jobs was discovered in 2004 when he was being checked for kidney stones. Biographer Walter Isaacson tells Steve Kroft that Jobs postponed a potentially life-saving operation--a decision he later regretted.

In early 2009, Steve Jobs was "wasting away" in desperate need of a liver transplant, his biographer Walter Isaacson tells Steve Kroft. Jobs finally had the surgery in Memphis, and it was done in great secrecy--much like the development of a new Apple product.