Cancer

Researchers at the University of Toronto's school of medicine have developed a device that will enable rapid cancer screening. The device--a microchip--could can detect certain biomarkers associated with cancer in a matter of minutes. This technology would detect in minutes what now takes hours. Researchers hope that the innovation will lead to more frequent cancer screenings and hopefully higher overall levels of early detection. Source: Scientific American Full Story

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that life expectancy in the United States reach almost 78 years. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 to 77.9 years of age. Cancer and heart disease were the leading causes of death, contributing to 48.5% of all deaths. Source: CDC Full Story

A new compound called salinomycin has shown promise in attacking cancer producing stem cells. Cancer stem cells are important because they appear to fuel the growth of several types of cancers. Salinomycin reduced the number of cancer stem cells 100 times more than a Taxol, a common chemotherapy medicine. “It’s exactly the opposite of standard treatment,” said Max Wicha, director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. “While chemotherapy kills the...