What's the best way to combat cancer? Drop bombs on it. At least that's what Balaji Panchapakesan intends to do. While experimenting with bundled carbon nanotubes, the University of Delaware engineering professor discovered that certain wavelengths of light cause pressure to build inside the bundles until they explode. So far, he's only used the tiny bombs to blast breast cancer cells under a microscope in the lab. "I put the sheet on my hand and shined light on it," Panchapakesan says. "It's such a small area, you only feel a pinprick." After the explosion, all that's left are dead cells, carbon residue, and maybe a little soreness. In five to 10 years, he says, the nanobomb could reduce cancer treatments to a simple outpatient procedure, an aspirin, and a nap. - Erin Biba
credit:Jameson Simpson
Illustration of nanobombs inside a cancer cell.
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