California high school student solves cancer?

[Canuck-Hater]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Lol. Yes. The million people conspiracy.

How is it a conspiracy? Think of the profits pharmaceutical corporations make from people dying of cancer! Is it so hard to believe that they would rather make millions than save lives? Its a very valid opinion.

[grizz29]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

If you happen to experience any WLAN issues at home, may I recommend not living inside a tinfoil tent?

Did you come up with that little gem all by yourself? <removed>

[TorqueDog]

^ Sorry, was I supposed to approach your comment with any more maturity than what it brought to the discussion itself?

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

How is it a conspiracy? Think of the profits pharmaceutical corporations make from people dying of cancer! Is it so hard to believe that they would rather make millions than save lives? Its a very valid opinion.

You always stand to make more money when your customers... y'know... don't die. Pharma will make money off someone treating someone until they die OR treating someone until they are cured.


... the difference is that once they're cured, they may continue living and, as they get on in age, will likely need more medicines to treat the variety of ailments we encounter as a result of aging. $$$.

Once a person dies, there goes that income source.

Remember, cancer knows no age. It isn't just taking seniors, it takes children, adolescents, twenty-somethings, etc. The people who claim that cancer isn't cured because big pharma "won't make money off of it" aren't even thinking the least bit critically about whether their own position makes any sense.

Originally Posted by Jade

Interesting how this amazing student 'discovered' an area of research that has been going on for over a decade.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/halas-nanoshell.html

Interesting, thanks for posting this.

[eddly]

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

How is it a conspiracy? Think of the profits pharmaceutical corporations make from people dying of cancer! Is it so hard to believe that they would rather make millions than save lives? Its a very valid opinion.

They would rather save lives.

[Canada 02]

first, it is impressive for a high school student to be thinking this way. Despite some obvious flaws in her idea, with knowledge and training she could be a very good scientist

second, more irresponsible reporting of science by the mainstream media. The word 'cure' in discussing any medical research should be used only in the rarest occasions when there is actually a cure.

third, cancer has been "cured" in mice tens, if not hundreds of times. How many have worked in people? 0

[missdpuck]

Hmmm thought i had heard of this technology already.

[CaramonLS]

What kind of science class is she taking?

Don't think my HS offered anything remotely like this.

[SHOGUN]

Not to be a downer... but I think finding the cure cancer would have a more negative impact than a positive for the human race.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

How is it a conspiracy? Think of the profits pharmaceutical corporations make from people dying of cancer! Is it so hard to believe that they would rather make millions than save lives? Its a very valid opinion.

Ignoring the fact that they would easily make millions of dollars with a cure, how exactly are they getting the 1,000's (if not more) people that would be needed to be involved in the cover up to stay quiet?

Are you saying every researcher, executive, assistant, secretary, salesman etc. that has ever been involved in the finding of said cure is so morally repugnant that they decided to keep quiet rather than mentioning anything to the public? And that they are also so tight lipped that they never accidently leaked something to a friend/family member?

This would be such an amazing cover up and so incredibly hard/impossible to pull off that it would seem cheaper and definitely easier to release the findings and figure out a way to gouge the public with the cure.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

Not to be a downer... but I think finding the cure cancer would have a more negative impact than a positive for the human race.

How come? I don't think I've ever heard that opinion before.

[nik-]

I think he's implying that Cancer is acting as population control. It's not obviously, since our population continues to explode in a totally different proportion than Cancer deaths.

[photon]

Cancer treatment and cancer survivors would presumably be a greater drain on society than healthy people or people that died of cancer overall.

However the same argument could be made about pretty much anyone that isn't in peak physical and mental condition, so you could say the same thing about old people, people with other serious illnesses, heck even people with glasses or people more prone to colds.

But I think setting up mandatory suicide for people who are ill or old or otherwise a net drain on society's resources actually in itself harms society more. Kind of like giving up freedom for security.

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

Nanoparticles, polimer, MRI, infrared light, medicine... sounds expensive.

It's not expensive, mom.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by photon

Cancer treatment and cancer survivors would presumably be a greater drain on society than healthy people or people that died of cancer overall.

However the same argument could be made about pretty much anyone that isn't in peak physical and mental condition, so you could say the same thing about old people, people with other serious illnesses, heck even people with glasses or people more prone to colds.

But I think setting up mandatory suicide for people who are ill or old or otherwise a net drain on society's resources actually in itself harms society more. Kind of like giving up freedom for security.

Classic science fiction . . . . Logan's Run. An idyllic future except for one thing, enforced suicide at age 30.




Cowperson

[photon]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Classic science fiction . . . . Logan's Run. An idyllic future except for one thing, enforced suicide at age 30.

Or Teela Brown, bred for luck. Yeah, there's a bunch of different science fiction that's explored various permutations of related ideas, I like the sub-genre. Take a basic premise and then it's a big thought experiment to work out the implications.

[93Hound]

I am sure we woudl all like to think there is a cure out there somewhere. If this is it, then good on her. Let her save some lives.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Classic science fiction . . . . Logan's Run. An idyllic future except for one thing, enforced suicide at age 30.

Is it still suicide if it's mandatory?

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Is it still suicide if it's mandatory?

The premise is that you kill yourself when your age beacon on your palm begins to blink - if you don't, the Sandmen are coming for you.

[mykalberta]

I hope it works if only so when someone tells me I should eat organic food cause non organic food causes cancer I can look at them and say "so what"

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I hope it works if only so when someone tells me I should eat organic food cause non organic food causes cancer I can look at them and say "so what"

If someone tells you you should eat organic food because non-organic food causes cancer, I think the most appropriate response is to point and laugh at their gullibility.

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

Not to be a downer... but I think finding the cure cancer would have a more negative impact than a positive for the human race.

Explain.

To have been able to save brilliant minds like Carl Sagan or Ralph Steinman, to name a couple, would have undoubtedly had a positive effect on our world.