Rarest Natural Element Promises to Revolutionize How Cancer is Treated
Scientists at Texas A&M University have unlocked a new way that involves leveraging the rarest natural element, astatine-211, to kill cancer cells. This form of radiotherapy eliminates malignant cells while leaving the healthy tissues surrounding the cancer unaffected. One of the biggest challenges that have plagued conventional cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy is that the treatments are indiscriminate and impact both cancerous tissues and healthy cells. As a result, these treatments cause side effects that can often be very serious or even life-threatening. The use of astatine-211 promises to address this drawback of existing radiotherapy approaches. Astatine (a Greek…
