Researchers Use Magnetic Soil Bacteria To Guide Cancer-Killing Virus To Its Target

Scientists have developed a cancer cure that can be injected and then magnetically directed into a patient¡¯s body to help it attack breast, prostate and other kinds of cancers.

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Reported first by The Guardian, the project has been led by researchers at Sheffield University and it is based on progress in two key medical areas -- medications including viruses that specifically attack tumours and a soil bacteria that can make its own magnets that can be helpful in aligning themselves to Earth¡¯s magnetic field.

The viruses are called oncolytic viruses. These often occur naturally but can also be tweaked to improve their effectiveness and limit the chances of infecting healthy cells along the way.

Today, a drug dubbed T-Vec has already been approved by the FDA that makes use of modified herpes simplex virus that infects and kills tumour cells that are being used to treat skin cancer.

But these viruses are limited in their approach as when they're inserted into the human body, it attracts the attention of the defences in the human body. As of now, only skin-deep tumours can be tackled using this approach before our body starts attacking the virus.

However, the new approach with soil bacterias could help the cancer-killing virus to reach other parts of the body, to heal other kinds of cancers -- breast and prostate cancer.

Coating the virus in magnetic particles can allow easy navigation of the virus to different parts of the body before immune defences can block the virus entirely. The magnets also help in protecting the virus.

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The challenge however is with its size. An oncolytic virus has a diameter of around 180 nanometres. Magnets are required to be about 50 nanometres in size. While recreating them in a lab is painstakingly possible, researchers have found a soil bacteria that does a better job at it.

Some species of soil bacteria are known to synthesise iron oxide nanoparticles dubbed magnetosomes. They essentially work like compasses that allow the microbes to move in the Earth¡¯s magnetic field to find the best conditions for them to thrive and survive.

Researchers are now working to ensure they can manufacture sufficient supplies to commence human trials for this novel cancer cure.

Dr Munitta Muthana, one of the project leaders said in a statement to The Guardian, ¡°These early tests have been very encouraging and we now need to take the next steps to bring this technique to a state where it can be administered to humans ¨C hopefully in a few years¡¯ time.¡±

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