Tiny Magnets Cure Cancer
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
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Genetic therapy took a giant leap forward recently, determining that they no longer had to use viruses to replace faulty genes; instead, they’re using tiny magnets, and guiding them around the body with an external electromagnet.
Will cure cancer, and make you a poet. Image from Box of Light
So why use magnets instead of the viral delivery system that’s worked so far? In short, it’s safer: the virus, being alive, can really mess things up if it attacks the wrong site, retains some of its DNA, or is rejected by the immune system. The magnets won’t accidentally insert viral DNA into yours, and at least in a laboratory setting, immune systems don’t seem to notice them.
Of course, while this does make genetic therapy safer and more effective, it’s not likely to make it any less controversial– the method of attacking illnesses is still widely considered to be the gateway to genetic engineering for personal gain, as opposed to medical necessity, and the opposition to that among religious and other conservative groups is fierce.
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February 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Well, I have to admit, there is a fair amount of baiting going on here. Where exactly do these magnets “cure” cancer? True, they can be used to replace some controversial forms of gene therapy, but is that in itself a guaranteed cure for anything? Seriously.. work on the titles here! Stop using the dreaded ‘C’ word to drag in readers. Next thing you know, you’ll have every uneducated sufferer of testicular cancer stuffing the cheap plastic alphabet from the fridge down their pants. I don’t even want to get into what those with colon cancer might do..
Bottom line, I have a few ABC magnets I should probably have embedded in my forehead, because I must have a tumor somewhere in my brain..
G-U-L-L-I-B-L-E
March 8th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Well, maybe the author didn’t mean it that way. You can’t just do this therapy by yourself, you need the aid of experts to do this. You have to go through the whole article and not just the title to understand the post. Perhaps even visit the news article mentioned here.