 |
Is He Legend?
In the recent movie I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, a genetically re-engineered measles virus - KV - is developed as a cure for cancer. Trials in humans are begun, and as the cure appears to be successful, countless people are "inoculated" with the virus.
(I Am Legend - the movie version)
When the virus mutates, it rapidly infects virtually all human beings and some animal species. Will Smith is the last healthy human being left in Manhattan.
But that's just a movie.
When Dr. Patrick Lee saw this movie on a recent air flight, he started rethinking his own approach to cancer cures.
Dr. Lee's work involves using a naturally-occurring virus known as "reovirus" to treat cancer... Dr. Lee tested the virus on mice in 1998 with some very promising results. In addition to causing brain tumor cancer cells in mice to shrink, reovirus appeared to seek out other tumors and eliminate them. Meanwhile, right now in the United States and the U.K., independent of Dr. Lee's research, there are already clinical trials underway to test reovirus on humans.
Let's take our time in extending these trials, shall we? Just to make sure...
Via io9.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/19/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Your Own Handheld Biosensor
'I'm gonna do a hand-held Boink, real quick,' Littleberry said'- Richard Preston, 1997.
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'- Philip K. Dick, 1964.
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices used with your smartphone.
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
'Marauder's Map' Created By Carnegie Melllon
'Is that Dumbledore in his study?'
Cheetah Cub Robot From PKD's Android Dreams
'What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?'
Dead Cellphone? Try Solar-Powered Public Charging Stations
'Then he saw the geek ... leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
'...I balked when my wife served me termites.'
Snowboarding On Mars? Heinlein Was Ready
How long ago did Robert Heinlein write about skiing on dry alien worlds?
Orwell's '1984' Hits Bestseller Lists Thanks To PRISM
'There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.'
Roboroach Control? There's An App For That
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.'
Court OK's DNA Collection Like 'Gattaca'
DNA sampling is not the same as fingerprinting.
Squid Vs. Whale Diorama Liked By Humans, Aliens
'Everything was ready, awaiting the Overlords' pleasure...'
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
'Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay.'
Sony's A4-Sized Flexible Digital Paper Notepad
'...he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports...'
Contact Lens Video Display Electronics Now Transparent
'He realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it...'
Tesla's Supercharge Station Plan
'To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village...'
Millimeter-Scale Computing For 'Internet of Things'
'In their megalomania they thought to make the very sand beneath their feet intelligent...'
Your Own Handheld Biosensor
'I'm gonna do a hand-held Boink, real quick,' Littleberry said'
DARPA's Warrior Web
'Earth's scientists solved the problem to some extent by devising rigid metallic clothing not unlike armor...'
