This is just damn cool.
The tiny silica particles are plated with gold and heat up when near infrared light (NIR) is shone on them. This kills the cancer cells. Tests on human breast cancers, both in the test tube and in tumours in mice, were highly successful, the researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“The nanoshells are designed to absorb near infrared light and convert that light to heat,” explains Jennifer West, who led the study at Rice University, Houston, Texas. This is possible because the body’s normal tissues are “essentially transparent” to NIR.
I just wonder how much the little buggers cost… Well, anyway, thanks for mentioning it, Adam!