Researchers Find Potential Cure for Cancer

MECC writes "Researchers at Johns Hopkins University may have found a way to kill cancer cells without radiation or toxic chemicals. The group is taking the step of patenting the idea, as this new approach using sugars may hold real potential for the fight against cancer. This is not the first approach to use sugars, the article states, but is (by the researchers' estimation) the most successful. From the article: 'Sampathkumar and his colleagues built upon 20-year-old findings that a short-chain fatty acid called butyrate can slow the spread of cancer cells. In the 1980s, researchers discovered that butyrate, which is formed naturally at high levels in the digestive system by symbiotic bacteria that feed on fibre, can restore healthy cell functioning ... The researchers focused on a sugar called N-acetyl-D-mannosamine, or ManNAc, for short, and created a hybrid molecule by linking ManNAc with butyrate. The hybrid easily penetrates a cell's surface, then is split apart by enzymes inside the cell. Once inside the cell, ManNAc is processed into another sugar known as sialic acid that plays key roles in cancer biology, while butyrate orchestrates the expression of genes responsible for halting the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells.'"

All this...

[Centurix]

And still no cure for ca... oh.

Old news

[Fred_A]

I found that you can easily kill cancerous cells by burning them in a chimney or crushing them in a bowl. No need for radiation or chemicals. Those scientists are always looking for overly complicated solutions when perfectly simple ones exist.

Mmmmm

[saskboy]

"as this new approach using sugars may hold real potential"

Mmmmm, sugar donuts. Is there anything they can't do?

She's a ManNAc, ManNAc,

[PrescriptionWarning]

and she's curing cancer like she's never cured before!

My thoughts on any "cures" from this country

[rodoke3]

can be summed up quite nicely by Chris Rock:

You think they're gonna cure AlDS? They're still mad at all the money they lost on polio! Curing AlDS? Shit, that's like Cadillac making a car that lasts for fifty years. And you know they can do it...but they ain't gonna do nothing that fucking dumb.

Re:All this...

[Apocalypse111]

Still no cure for 17 stab wounds in the back, although I have it on good authority they're up to 15.

Re:MaNAc??

[Apocalypse111]

So its for curing testicular-cancer then?

At least...

[Baron Eekman]

it will make one person happy in each city

Cure for cancer patented....

[mblase]

...still no cure for greed.

Calm down, people

[DJPenguin]

It's only a cure for cancer, not a new operating system!

Re:Cancer stem cells

[Lobster Quadrille]

You have to kill all the minions first with the sugar compound first, then you are free to take on the boss cell. The red bosses are easy to take out, but the blue ones move a lot faster. Best bet is to get past it and get the axe.

Re:I hate to say this...

[Reality Master 101]

...but the chances of the healthcare industry letting this fly if it is real are slim to none. Think about it. Chemotherapy is a multi-BILLION dollar a year buisness. WHy do you think there have been no major cures in the past...what, 30-40 years?

Sheesh. You know, even mean, nasty, conspiratorial CEOs with giant handlebar mustaches get cancer, too.

Re:At least...

[djh101010]

it will make one person happy in each city

Bravo, well played sir. But does that mean we're nearing the end game, or do we just keep researching numbered future techs now?

I thought there was already a cure?

[transmetal]

I heard Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he's never cried.

Mary Poppins was right!

[HTH NE1]

"But we found that when the right sugar is matched with the right chemical partner, it can deliver a powerful double-whammy against cancer cells."

So, Mary Poppins was right! A spoonful of sugar does help the medicine go down! And in a most delightful way, too!

Re:At least...

[meringuoid]

We can FINALLY switch to Democracy.

Totally. The shortage of Luxuries has been a killer lately. I mean, sure, I got a Wii, but all those guys in red yelling outside? Poor guys missed out. And the Elvis impersonator doesn't seem to be impressing them much...