05-10-2016, 12:55 PM
1457882403-CANCERNANO.doc (Size: 298 KB / Downloads: 4)
Abstract:
We the humans have lived in various kinds of ages; Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and silicon age. Each and every age has its own impact on the life of human beings.
Nevertheless we are well in to the new and emerging age called ‘Nano age’. The age where no one knows what is a disease? And what is aging? Imagine curing cancer by
Drinking medicine stirred into your favorite juice, a super computer no bigger than a human cell. These are just a few promises of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology promises to make us healthy and wealthy, and it will be able to do so without consuming any natural resources or without spewing pollution in to the environment.
Our paper will be focusing on how this Nano-Technology plays a vital role in improving life of humans by Eliminating virtually all kinds of deadly viral diseases such as cancer and also focuses on how can we eliminate all kinds of old age diseases that are faced by the today’s mankind, thereby prolonging the life of humans far beyond the current limitation, making life more enjoyable.
Introduction:
From the past several years, numbers of human deaths have been on an up ward trend. The result of rapid increase in growing and aging population. According to the world health organization (WHO) a total of 58 million deaths were recorded in 2005. The main causes for this uncontrolled human holocaust were due to steep rise in aging population and rapid increase of viral diseases. Current stats show that the total population of the world at the end of 2005 is 6.3 billion, of which half of them ages above 45 years. The more you age, the more close to your death. Since the person with over 45 years has greater chance of dying than the person with below 45, it clearly indicates that the majority of deaths were due to aging (i.e. natural death). As far as viral diseases are concerned cancer is the leading cause of death globally with over 7.6 million (or 13%) of all deaths in 2005, compared to 2.8 million deaths due to HIV/AIDS.
Deaths from cancer in the world are projected to continue rising with more than 10 million new cases and 6 million deaths each year. According to the world cancer report cancer rates could further increase by 50% to 15 million new cases in the year 2020 and an estimated number of over 84 million people will die in the next 10 years if action is not taken. The predicted sharp rise in new cases will be mainly due to steadily aging population in both developed and developing countries. Deaths
From the above table it clearly indicates that, the hub for all human deaths were due to natural death and cancer with over 51.6 million deaths last year, of all 58 million deaths. If we can provide an appropriate treatment for aging and cancer, then it might be possible to control these holocausts and also possible to extend the life span of human being beyond the current rate.
But unfortunately today’s medical environment does not provide any kind of treatment that can eliminate cancer and old age diseases completely. This is where nanotechnology plays an important role by providing precise treatment not only to cancer and old age related diseases but also to all kinds of diseases of 20th century. Nanotechnology promises to take the humankind a giant leap forward in how health is maintained and illness is treated. Once polio was frequent and incurable, today it is easily prevented and so were tuberculosis, cholera, malaria, plague and other infection diseases. But now they were all conquered. Now it seems to be the turn of cancer, AIDS, and other old age related diseases.
Cancer:
Cancer is the general term for a group of more than 100 diseases that can affect any part of the body. The defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells which Grow beyond their usual boundaries and which can invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs, a process referred to as metastasis. Metastasis is the major cause of death from cancer. One most insidious aspects of cancer is the way it grows. Cancer develops when cells in the part of the body begin to grow out of control. Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because of out of control growth of abnormal cells.
A healthy human body is composed of 30 trillion cells, maximum of which are in constant turnover as cells grow, divide and die and others reproduce to replace them in an orderly fashion. Healthy cells of skin, hair, and lining of stomach for example, regularly reproduce by dividing to form two daughter cells. This cell division cycle proceeds under the regulation of the body’s intricate, tuned control system. During the early years of person’s life, normal cells grow more rapidly until the person becomes an adult. Among other functions, this control system ensures that cells only divide when needed, so that organs and tissues maintain their correct shape and size. Because cancer cells continue to grow and divide, they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying they out live normal cells and continue to form new abnormal cells.
Cancer cells develop because of damage to DNA. This substance is in every cell and directs all its activities. Most of the time when DNA becomes damaged, the body is able to repair it. In case of cancer cells the damaged DNA is not repaired. Since it grows cells rapidly cancer usually forms tumors. Some cancers like leukemia doesn’t form tumors, instead cancer cells involves blood and blood forming organs and circulate through other tissues where they grow, and spread to whole body and poisons entire circulatory system, finally leading to death.
The main types of cancer leading to overall cancer mortality are lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer. These five cancers are responsible for half of the total deaths due to cancer in 2005. The five types of cancer leading to overall cancer mortality are: 1. Lung Cancer - (1.3 million deaths/year); 2. Stomach cancer - (almost 1 million deaths/year); 3. Liver cancer - (662,000 deaths/year); 4. Colon cancer - (655,000 deaths/year); 5. Breast cancer - (502,000 deaths/year);
In today’s medical world treatment for cancer includes surgery, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, and Chemotherapy and Biologic therapy. But none of these are safer methods. Each treatment level brings certain level of risk and pain to the patient.
Nanotechnology applied for treatment of cancer:
One fifth of the cancers worldwide are due to chronic infections, mainly from hepatitis B viruses HBV (causing liver), human pap Loma viruses HPV (causing cervin), helicobacter pylori (causing stomach), schistosomes (causing bladder), the liver fluke (bile duct) and human immunodeficiency virus HIV (Kaposi sarcoma and lymphomas). All these have different kinds of treatments that can cure cancer partially but not permanently.
Some viral diseases will respond to the treatment that destroys viruses in nose and throat or in the blood stream. The flu and common cold are examples. Many others would be greatly improved by this, but not eliminated. All viruses work by injecting their genes into a cell and taking over its molecular machinery using it to produce more viruses. This is a part of what makes viral diseases so hard to treat. Most of action is performed by the body’s own molecular machinery, which cannot be interfered on a wholesale basis. When the immune system deals with viral illness, it both attacks free virus particles and attacks infected cells before they can churn out too many more virus particles. Some viruses though insert their genes among the genes of the cell and lay low, the cell seems to be entirely normal to the immune system, for months, years, until the viral genes are triggered in to action and begin the infective process. This pattern is responsible for slow and deadly progress of AIDS. Cancer is one of such viral diseases whose growth consists of human cells. In such cases even if we use drugs to cure, it won’t reach where the treatment is needed, in turn entire body will be drugged, which may affect the quality of life. Drug therapies often treat the bye-product of the problem, not the problem itself. The only real effective treatment for these kind of viral diseases is preventive not curative.
Nanorobotic treatment for cancer:
Nanorobots are theoretical microscopic devices measured on the scale of nanometers. When fully realized from hypothetical stage, they would work at the atomic, molecular and cellular level to perform tasks in both medical and industrial fields. When applied to medical front these Nanorobots will travel through tissue as white blood cells do, and enter cells as viruses do or they could open and close cell membranes with a surgeons care. They can perform any task at the cellular level from repairing tissue to cleaning arteries, attacking cancer cells and viruses and even reverse the aging process
Nanorobots involved in destroying the virus that they have encountered, by using powerful lasers. Here, it is useful to think in terms of medical Nanorobots that resemble small submarines, like the ones shown in the figure. Each of these is large enough to carry a nanocomputer as powerful as mid-1980’s mainframe, along with a huge database (a billion bytes), a complete set of instruments for identifying biological surfaces, and tools for clobbering viruses, bacteria, and other invaders. With their onboard sensors and computers, they will be able to react to the same molecular signals that immune system does, but with greater discriminatation. The body’s immune system can respond only to invading organisms that had been encountered by that individual’s body. Nanorobot, however, could be programmed to respond to anything that had been encountered by world medicine. It is believed that these Nanorobots will directly go to the virus-affected area and repair the damaged cells or even destroys the tumors of cancer cells (as shown in the figure) without causing any damage to the healthy cells. Nanorobots before being sent in to the body on their ‘search and destroy mission’ they will be programmed with a set of characteristics that lets them clearly distinguish their targets from everything else. First a cordless, self-sterilizing, pencil-size probe is inserted into the Patient’s body. The tip of the probe consists of millions of molecular assay receptors, mounted on hundreds of self-adjusting retractile stalks. Each receptor is sensitive to the chemical signature of specific kind of bacterium or virus. A few seconds later a three-dimensional, color-coded map of the patient’s body appears on the display panel of the device, which will be in the physician’s hand. Beneath the map are three columns of continuously updated data. The column on the left lists the names of 10 most numerical microbial and viral species that have been detected so far. Key biochemical marker codes for each species are displayed in the right column. After a few seconds the data for one viral species are suddenly highlighted in red, indicating the distinctive molecular signature of a specific viral pathogen. The viral species that has been highlighted in red is responsible for the patient’s illness. So the spotted virus is the target to be destroyed. Now the diagnosis is complete, the infected virus can be exterminated. After diagnosing the working of Nanorobots begins. Since, during diagnosis it clearly specifies the type of virus to be destroyed, that particular virus name is feeded into the
Computer. For example if the cancer is related to liver then, type virus name as ‘hepatitis B viruses’. Following the computer instructions Nanorobots will find, recognize and destroy that specified virus. Billions of such programmed Nanorobots are suspended in an aerosolized carrier fluid, which the patient consumes. After consumption, the Nanorobots present in the fluid will march down to the cancer-affected area. (I.e. if a person is suffering from liver cancer then Nanorobots march down through the liver of the patient)
Moving by way of legs, screw drives, flagella or another form of autonomous locomotion. The robots follow a search pattern until they find the virus that was previously feeded in to the computer. As soon as they encounter the virus that they were searching for, they blast those harmful viruses, by using powerful lasers. This powerful laser is capable of destroying any kind of harmful viruses that are present in the body (clear picture of Nanorobots involved in destroying the virus using powerful lasers is shown in figure).
Even though nanowar is going inside the body the patient feels nothing, because these Nanorobots are the size of bacteria, which constantly crawl on inside the body without being noticed. Motion of Nanorobots can be traced on computer screen with the help of an inbuilt nanocomputer inside the Nanorobots. With the help of onboard sensors and computers doctor could not only monitor patient’s progress but also can change the instructions of Nanorobots in vivo to reform to another stage of healing? These Nanorobots complete their operation until all the cancerous cells are eradicated completely. When the task is completed Nanorobots would be flushed out from the body.
A disease called aging:
Aging is nothing but natural death. Natural death is responsible for three fourths of overall deaths in 2005.According to the world health organization the human death toll in 2005 from all 194 countries on earth was nearly 58 million, of which about 44 million were not directly caused by human action, i.e. not accidents or suicides or war or natural calamities or not even deadly viral diseases; they were natural deaths. Even though the most widely recognized greatest disasters in human history go pale in comparison to natural death. Let’s look at the some of the greatest disasters that human’s have ever faced.
The typhoon that struck Bangladesh in 1970 washed away millions of lives. The plague took away 15 million lives per year. World War - 2 took away 9 million per year for half a decade each. The worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918 exterminated less than 22 million people-exactly half the annual casualties from natural death. But natural death took 44 million lives last year. We can only conclude that natural death is measurably the greatest catastrophe that humankind has ever faced.
Aging is natural, but so were smallpox and our efforts to prevent it. We have conquered smallpox now it seems that we might prevent aging. Scientists are working on ways to prolong the life of humans beyond the current record of 122 years. Prolonging the life is not only living longer but also to make life more enjoyable by eliminating old age diseases. Normally human body is constructed with atoms and molecules. Failures in these constructions increase as we age. Aging is fundamentally no different from any other physical disorder. It is no magical effect of calendar dates on a mysterious life force. Brittle bones, low enzyme activities, slow wound healing, poor memory, teeth wear and crack and aren’t replaced, hair fossils stop working, skin sags and wrinkles, eye shape becomes more rigid, ruining close vision and rest of all result from damaged DNA, chemical imbalances and misarranged structures which usually occurs as we age. Due to these physical disorders people often suffer from old age diseases, which aren’t having any precise treatment and finally loose their life. Today’s medical
Environment does not provide perfect treatment for these old age diseases. Here is where nanotechnology involves in repairing molecules from cellular damage that happened to human’s overtime, by restoring all the damaged cells of the body to a youthful structure and restores youthful health.
Postponement of aging using nanotechnology:
It is believed that nanotechnology can eliminate almost all old age diseases that are faced by the mankind, thereby restoring youthful appearance and prolonging the life beyond the current limitation and that can be able to do so with the help of Nanorobots sent in to the body. To repair a car a mechanic first reaches the faulty assembly then identifies and removes the bad parts and finally rebuilds or replaces them. Nanorobots will also involve the same basic task by directly going to damaged part of the body; restore the faulty assembly and return back. The Nanorobots that, I have discussed earlier in curing cancer will follow ‘search and destroy mission’ where as to restore youthful health and reverse the aging mechanism, we use Nanorobots which
Performs ‘search and cure mission’. Before sending them into the body the part to be repaired is feeded into the computer. For example, in order to restore the damaged DNA of the wrinkled skin, DNA of that tissue in feeded. Then Nanorobots are suspended into the body through aerosolized carrier fluid, which the patient consumes. With the help of inbuilt sensors, computers, manipulators, pumps, pressure tanks and power supplies, Nanorobots follow the computers instructions and march down to the damaged part of the body that was programmed previously, then they enter the cell and reads it’s DNA, if the DNA that they have encountered matches the DNA that is feeded previously then Nanorobots starts their repair work by providing proper medicines to that damaged
Part until it regains its original form. By working through a person organ by organ, they will restore health. Because molecular machines will be able to build molecules and cells
From scratch they will be able to repair even cells damaged to the point of complete inactivity. How will these devices know when it’s time to depart? Well, they will continue this repair process until all the damaged part is repaired completely. If physician in charge is sure the task will be finished within say, one day, the devices prescribed could be of a type designed to fall apart after 24 hours. If the treatment needed is variable, the physician could monitor Progress and stop action at the appropriate time by
Sending a specific molecule-aspirin perhaps, or something even safer-as a signal to stop work. The inactivated devices would then be cleared out along with other waste eliminate
From the body. By working along molecule by molecule and structure, repair machines will be able to repair whole cells. By working along cell-by-cell and tissue-by-tissue they will be able to repair whole organs. In this way cell repair machines will bring a fundamental breakthrough that they will free medicine from reliance on self-repair as the only path to healing.
Prolonging this ‘Robert A.Freitas jr’ a famous nanoscientist designed an artificial medical Nanorobots; an artificial red blood cell called reciprocities, which measures 1 micron in diameter and just floats along in the blood stream. According to his theoretical calculations, dechronification will first arrest biological aging, and then reduce your biological age by performing three kinds of procedures on each one of the 4 trillion tissue cells in your body.
1. First a repirocyte or microbivore class device will be sent to enter every tissue cell, to remove accumulating metabolic toxins un degradable material. Afterwards, These toxins will continue to slowly re-accumulate as they Have all your life, so you’ll probably need a whole body Clean out to prevent further aging, maybe once a year.
2. Second, chromosome replacement therapy can be used to correct accumulated genetic damage and mutations in every one of your cells. This might also be repeated annually.
3. Third, president cellular structural damage that the cell cannot repair it self such as enlarges or disabled Mitochondria can be reversed as required, on a cell-by cell basis, using cellular repair devices.
Such therapies will eliminate all genetic diseases and reverse other accumulated defects that lead to aging augmenting human life span at least ten fold. With the help of nanotechnology’s Nanorobots however, the potential for life extension becomes clear. They will be able to replace cells so long as their distinctive structures remain intact and will be able to replace cells that have been destroyed. In such a way nanotechnology will not only eliminate diseases but also postpones aging. People who survive intact the time of full fledge of nanotechnology’s arrival; will have an opportunity to regain youthful health and to keep it almost as long as they please.
Progress in life extension:
Studies of aging mechanisms have begun to bear fruit, and researchers have extended animals life spans. As knowledge builds on knowledge and tools lead to new tools, advances seem sure to accelerate. Even without nanotechnology we have reason to expect the major progress towards slowing and partially reversing aging. In the second nineteenth century people were expected to live to an average of 38 years, due to the poor medical environment. But now the story has entirely changed, due to the half of
Advancements in medical technology. Below chart shows the progress of human life span from the past two centuries.
Life expectancy from birth has approximately doubled from 38 years in 1850 to 75 years in 2003and this sharp rise is expected to continue in coming years. This huge improvement is achieved without the involvement of nanotechnology. When full-blown nanotechnology arrives, then a person who leads an average normal life of 75 years in today’s medical world might lead a healthy longer life by extending his average life span to hundreds or even thousands of years.
Although people of all ages will benefit from these advances, the young will benefit more, i.e. a baby who has born in the era of nanotechnology is excepted to live to an estimated and unimaginable age of more than 4000 calendar years and 10 year olds among us would fare the best, reaching an average excepted age at death exceeding 3000 calendar years. The 20 year olds would make it to 600 calendar years. Life has
Become even less dangerous for the 40 year olds, who could survive to an average calendar age of 300 years. Incredible!
But truth would be stranger than the fiction. Yes, this is what makes nanotechnology as a powerful one. Those surviving long enough will reach a time when aging becomes fully reversible: at the latest, the time of advanced cell repair machines. Then, if not sooner, people will grow healthier as they grow older, improving like wine instead of spoiling like milk. They will, if they choose, regain excellent health and live a long, long time. In that time, with its replicators and cheap spaceflight, people will have both long lives and room and resources enough to enjoy them. Of course questions do exist. Is this really possible? People posed the same question in last century when man is planning to land on moon. But what happened now we are preparing to send him even to the other planets. We can’t predict the future; if things go in right way, we all might lead longer and healthier lives.
Conclusion:
Finally, genetic modifications or nanomedical augmentations to the human body may extend healthy life spans still further, to a degree that cannot yet be accurately predicted, the result might not be immortality, but you’ll definitely live ten times longer than you do now. In closing, I hope you’ll agree with me that when full blown nanotechnology arrives then aging (natural death), cancer, and other deadly diseases which can’t be prevented in today’s medical conditions will be the matter of past. Now at long last, may be we can finally do something about it. Hope future is bright.