In what must be a heartbreaking moment for a sector making billions from human misery, researchers from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas have achieved a huge breakthrough.
Their work using evolved Feringa-type molecular motors destroyed membranes of cancer cells. This process uses infrared light to penetrate tissue without invasive and sometimes dangerous surgery. It can even penetrate bones. The tuned vibrations from the IR light start up the motors to do the work.
It works that well. A 99% success rate isn’t something you can ignore. This isn’t just a revolution; it’s a totally different ballgame. From extreme difficulty to extreme simplicity is a pretty good step forward.
I don’t want to garble the technology, so read this article from Science Alert which goes into depth on the process. It’s not simple tech, but it’s a lot more straightforward than the highly complex procedures now being used.
It’s also a very neat solution for what used to be an incredibly difficult, custom-level problem for every patient. Most importantly, risk to patients is drastically reduced.
Tesla was famously convinced that electromagnetic frequencies, notably radio waves, could cure diseases. He didn’t have the technology to prove it, but this looks pretty similar.
The medical ramifications are so obvious that they hardly need explaining. What else can be done with this tech? Is it possible to “panel beat” other defective tissues? What about managing intrusive bone growths, and spinal problems, aka insert dictionary here.
The wider implications for healthcare generally are even more beneficial. This could be the one-stop fix the world needs, taking enormous pressure off the healthcare sector, which is now looking very sick indeed itself.
Something has to give. Workloads are intolerable for the sector. People are bailing out of healthcare due to the stress alone. Costs are enormous, and irreplaceable time is consumed.
If it’s possible to simply “manage” such a major condition effectively, it’s a massive game-changer for the entire sector.
There’s a long-overdue bit of vindication for the people who’ve worked so hard for so long on molecular machinery, too. It used to be an obscure science, as far as the world knew. This is a dramatic, very valuable, and very appropriate, proof of this tech at a critical treatment baseline.
What about simply adding some of these molecular motors to an affected area, and hitting yourself with a limited dose of infrared at home? No more rheumatoid arthritis?
OK, maybe it’s not going to get that simple that fast, but tech evolves rapidly. It’s pretty easy to see a new generation of this core tech turning into a must-have. The researchers may have just hit on a fundamental process for managing a lot of things.
Watch this tech, because it’s definitely going somewhere very good indeed.
______________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
