Curing Cancer with Proton Beams – with Suzie Sheehy
Particle accelerators do more than just particle physics research. Suzie Sheehy takes a look at the history and promise of proton therapy: using particle accelerators to fight cancer. Subscribe...
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Particle accelerators are complex and fascinating machines and it might be surprising that there's about 35,000 of them in the world and around half of those are used for one specific practical application. And that is treating cancer. The earliest mention of cancer dates back to 1600 BC, where the Edwin Smith papyrus describes the ailment. And for as long as humanity has suffered under it and known of it, we've also try to cure it. The same papyrus outlines instructions on how to surgically remove a breast tumour. Over the following centuries our knowledge and understanding grew, but it wasn't until 1895 when Wilhelm R�ntgen discovered x-rays that we got our first real modern breakthrough in cancer treatment. R�ntgen used a cathode...
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Particle accelerators are complex and fascinating machines and it might be surprising that there's about 35,000 of them in the world and around half of those are used for one specific practical application. And that is treating cancer. The earliest mention of cancer dates back to 1600 BC, where the Edwin Smith papyrus describes the ailment. And for as long as humanity has suffered under it and known of it, we've also try to cure it. The same papyrus outlines instructions on how to surgically remove a breast tumour. Over the following centuries our knowledge and understanding grew, but it wasn't until 1895 when Wilhelm R�ntgen discovered x-rays that we got our first real modern breakthrough in cancer treatment. R�ntgen used a cathode...
