Researchers Find Precise Way to Kill Cancer Cells
12th July 2024
Cancer treatments that aim to destroy deadly cells often cause damage and pain as they wreak havoc on neighboring cells and tissues. However, scientists have discovered a new method of targeting harmful cells using light for precise destruction, according to a recent study.
“Usually treatments for cancer use pharmacological induction to kill the cells, but those chemicals tend to diffuse throughout the tissues and it’s hard to contain to a precise location,” said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign biochemistry professor and study leader Kai Zhang in a press release. “You get a lot of unwanted effects.”
The researchers deploy optogenetics, an approach that uses optical systems to control cell functions, to focus a light beam on a target smaller than one cell.
“That is how we can use light to very precisely target a cell and turn on its death pathway,” Mr. Zhang said in the press release.