Ingestible Dye Makes Tumor Cells Glow
November 17, 2015 | Terry Sharrer
Distinguishing tumor from non-tumor cells in the brain is no easy task, even with the best imaging machines. And for a surgeon to remove a brain tumor it’s necessary to “clear the margins,” if one can distinguish the margins. This piece is a touching story of how a research-surgeon discovered that a synthetic toxin, chlorotoxin, and a fluorescent label selectively are taken up in tumor cells alone and, in effected, act as a light at the end of the scalpel. MORE
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