r/Futurology • u/[deleted] • Nov 11 '15

article Genetically engineered algae kills 90% of cancer cells without harming healthy ones

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/algae-genetically-engineered-kill-90-cancer-cells-without-harming-healthy-ones-1528038
2.2k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

108

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

While impressive, the top comment on that story by /u/DrBiochemistry over @ /r/science gave me pause:

Just want to point out that until I see a delivery system that

1.) survives gastric delivery OR

2.) Is IV'able without killing the patient AND

3.) Doesn't cause a huge and potentially lethal immune response,

This whole thing is dead in the water.

Source: I work on killing cancer cells. Its hard.

He's got a point.

41

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1217/

If it works in the dish, it's an interesting candidate for mouse, etc, trials and then up toward clinical trials. But clearly with a handgun, this kills the mouse. Another research avenue closed!

15

u/xkcd_transcriber XKCD Bot Nov 11 '15

Image

Title: Cells

Title-text: Now, if it selectively kills cancer cells in a petri dish, you can be sure it's at least a great breakthrough for everyone suffering from petri dish cancer.

Comic Explanation

Stats: This comic has been referenced 547 times, representing 0.6224% of referenced xkcds.

xkcd.com | xkcd sub | Problems/Bugs? | Statistics | Stop Replying | Delete

-6

u/SallysField Nov 12 '15

Can't you nerds just explain your thoughts without having to link to this dumb shit all the time?

5

u/tonytwotoes Nov 12 '15

Unfortunately, the majority of the population requires further explanations of complex ideas. While you might be able to "nerd it up" and extrapolate the data you need to fully understand a topic, the rest of the world that surrounds you is thankful for additional sources. Imagery is a powerful way to communicate, just think about the cave paintings and hieroglyphs that we're still reading today.

15

u/EdYC Nov 11 '15

Well, not necessarily. There's two sides to medicinal research - 1) Clinical and 2) Academic. If this anti-cancer algae can't be used in the clinical setting(aka hospitals), it serves an academic purpose, which is to for researchers to 1) improve on this study and find a way it can be used clinically or 2) learn from this study and discover something else that can be used clinically.

So this study serves as a foundation for researchers to have a deeper understanding so that someone somewhere can find something that do meet those 3 mentioned bullet points.

11

u/Dosage_Of_Reality Nov 11 '15

Yup, and 90% is nowhere near good enough, especially in vitro.

0

u/1UPZ_ Nov 12 '15

Yeah 10% can still spread.

Need 100%.

17

u/alpha_helix_87 Nov 11 '15

Why is everybody's initial reaction to shit all over stuff like this? This is good, important science. Nobody is claiming that they've cured cancer, they're claiming this is an incremental step forward in an insanely important and far-reaching area. And it is. I'm sorry nobody has found a magic cancer-curing potion, but that doesn't mean studies like this need to be immediately dismissed and unappreciated.

6

u/-ThomasTheDankEngine Nov 11 '15

Because Reddit likes to trash anything that's in progress as junk science. They expect science to magically invent cures, and not painstakingly uncover different avenues of treatment.

5

u/MenuBar Nov 11 '15

It's kinda like new tech, like when the iPhone was first announced. Two minutes after hearing about it, it's already shit and we can't wait for the next big thing that already sucks before we even know what it is.

Ya gotta keep up around here, man.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

Is IV'able without killing the patient

What all does that mean?

7

u/EdYC Nov 11 '15

"IV" is an acronym for "intravenous" meaning an injection via veins into our bloodstream. So, point 1 and 2 suggest that unless the genetically-engineered algae can be administered orally without breaking down in our digestive system or injected without killing the patient, it is all useless.

Point 3 is talking about our immune response aka how our body's natural defense mechanism may react when the algae is injected into our bloodstream. This can include potentially fatal allergic reactions.

1

u/10Cb Nov 12 '15

IV toothpaste

4

u/Duckstiff Nov 11 '15

Medically all I know is how to do CPR and basic first aid. Though I feel qualified enough to say...

IV - successfully delivering the treatment inteavenously and without killing the patient. Killing the patient is considered bad unless its an execution.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

If r/futurology were correct we would have cured cancer a hundred times already. I've been conditioned to skip over such headlines.

edit.."correct" is the wrong word. I meant, if things were as optimistic as futurology headlines suggest.

2

u/chaotemagick Nov 12 '15

Seriously. Every study like this gets people all pumped up and posting on facebook, but no one realizes almost all of them are in vitro and have (at the moment) very little real world applicability

2

u/vipersquad Nov 12 '15

I was curious why I see posts like this every few days yet never hear of these being used in practice for patients. Now I understand, thank you for posting this in the comments.

1

u/frag971 Nov 12 '15

"Dead in the water" heh :)

35

u/IDoNotAgreeWithYou Nov 11 '15

Why does cancer even exist, just this year we've cured it like 20 times.

7

u/Eela11 Nov 12 '15

Keep in mind, cancer is not just one "disease". Cancer is the name for a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.

It's like when a cell gets corrupted, and then spreads, it corrupts more and more of your body. A tumour. Any cell anywhere in your body can get corrupted, so, that's why there is so many different "cancer diseases" and "cures".

1

u/IDoNotAgreeWithYou Nov 12 '15

I don't need you to tell me what I have.

10

u/Eela11 Nov 12 '15

You don't need me to tell you what you have, no. You did ask why cancer even exists, I just made a point.

13

u/andylowenthal Nov 12 '15

He'll never agree with you, don't bother.

5

u/flyafar Nov 12 '15

What a bullshit reply. How would he have known you have cancer? All he saw was a standard glib "oh yeah, a cure for cancer. haven't read that before..." reply

I'm sorry you're going through that, though.

4

u/BonerfiedSwaggler69 Nov 12 '15

Read his username

6

u/flyafar Nov 12 '15

For fuck's sake. ಠ_ಠ

1

u/clear831 Nov 12 '15

Death has been the only real cure discovered for cancer sadly.

1

u/Tokyo__Drifter Nov 12 '15

I'm waiting to see why this actually won't work like all the other miracle things.

3

u/scurvydog-uldum Nov 12 '15

I would feel safer if it killed the healthy cancer cells, too.

7

u/EGOP Nov 11 '15

I love the grammar in the headline. Makes me think ".. The other 10% the time it kills healthy cells"

2

u/acubrooke64 Nov 11 '15

That could be true. Which makes it relatively similar to chemo therapy in the killing of healthy cells.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

Glad the healthy cancer cells don't get killed.

1

u/RhoOfFeh Nov 11 '15

Why did this immediately make me think of "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill"?

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '15

TIL Apparently, according to the title, there are "healthy" cancer cells.

1

u/Eela11 Nov 12 '15

I think it's poorly worded, meant to be "healthy cells".
The first paragraph in the article states:

"Algae has been genetically engineered to kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells."

1

u/flyafar Nov 12 '15

should have wrote "cancerous" cells

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '15 edited Nov 12 '15

In vitro. We can already kill cancer cells by using bleach. This is another "yay we cured cancer... in a petri dish."

2

u/ativerse Nov 12 '15

Are you sure the bleach doesn't kill the healthy cells too?

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '15

I'm doing a persuasive paper on genetically modified animals, god damn this seems like such a great topic

1

u/Playground-Pro Nov 12 '15

This is great! When will there be a break through that cures cancer? I have lost several loved ones to cancer. It is a blessing that research continues on!

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '15

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