Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : In a major leap forward for oncology, scientists in South Korea have developed a revolutionary new technology that can precisely target and eliminate cancer cells by using light to trigger their self-destruction, all while leaving healthy cells unharmed. This breakthrough could pave the way for a new generation of cancer therapies with significantly fewer side effects than traditional treatments like chemotherapy.
The research, led by a team at the prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), centers on a process known as apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Healthy cells in our body use this mechanism to die off when they become old or damaged. However, cancer cells are notorious for overriding this process, allowing them to grow and multiply uncontrollably.
The KAIST team has engineered a way to reactivate this "suicide" command specifically within cancer cells. Their method uses a specially designed protein, called C-Nips1, which binds to a key enzyme within the cell known as procaspase-3. On its own, this enzyme is dormant.
The magic happens when a specific wavelength of light is applied to the cancer cells. This light acts as a switch, causing the C-Nips1 protein to change shape and activate the procaspase-3. Once activated, the enzyme sets off a chain reaction that forces the cancer cell to undergo apoptosis and effectively self-destruct from the inside.
The key advantage of this light-activated technology is its incredible precision. Treatment can be targeted directly at a tumor, minimizing the collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue that is a major drawback of radiation and chemotherapy.
Professor Won Do Heo, the lead researcher, described the innovation as a "versatile and effective platform" that could be adapted to treat various types of cancer. While this groundbreaking technology is still in the research phase, it represents a significant and promising new direction in the global fight against cancer, offering hope for more effective and less debilitating treatments in the future.
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