User:Cap'n Refsmmat/ScienceNews/April 11, 2005

Interesting new cancer detection method
Scientists have developed a new method for isolating individual cells and detecting if they're cancerous.

Using a gallium-aluminium-arsenide micro-sized laser, they illuminated individual cells. Based on the reflection that came back, they could figure out the location of each individual mitochondrion (a power-producing part cells). When cancer infects a cell, these mitochondria spread out from their original positions near the nucleus of the cell.

Based on the position of the mitochondria, it is possible to say if the cell is cancerous or not, and that is what this laser can do. Scientists hope to use the method during surgery to see if they have missed cancerous clumps, or even for early detection, as the laser can detect the signs of cancer long before symptoms.

This method promises to help during surgery, help with early detection of cancer, and much more.

Source: New Scientist (subscription required to read entire article