http://news.usti.net/home/news/cn/?/tw.health.misc/2/wed/dt/Uus-nanocells.R9OA_Jl9.htmlCancer, Non-Cancer Cells Have Similarities
Thursday, 09-Jul-2009 1:05PM
EVANSTON, Ill., July 9 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have discovered cancerous and non-cancerous cells share similar structural abnormalities.
The Northwestern University-led researchers said although the cells appear quite different under a microscope, they used an optical technique called partial wave spectroscopy and found the similar features at the nanoscale level.
The scientists said their finding marks the first such discovery and validates the "field effect" -- a biological phenomenon in which cells located some distance from a malignant or premalignant tumor undergo molecular and other kinds of abnormal changes.
In another important finding, the scientists said abnormalities in the nanoarchitecture of colon cells are the same abnormalities as those found in the pancreas and lung, illustrating commonality across three very different organs.