Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Toxoplasmosis and the Future of Medicine

Toxoplasmosis killed with gold nanoparticles and lasers
Yes! This is great! This will be a great precursor to eliminating other illnesses, especially eukaryote-based diseases. Hopefully in the future, we will be able to use nanoparticles to destroy bacteria without having to use antibiotics. Then we will probably have won our battle with disease because we will not have to be constantly developing new anitbiotics, and can focus on treating infections where they occur in the body, instead of flooding a person's body with medicine or radiation. Looking good for humanity, I just wish we do not die of something extreme before we develop better technology,
But...I cannot help from being slightly skeptical, because even though we can now eliminate toxoplasmosis cysts from the brain, millions of people (and animals) are infected, and using lasers and nanoparticles can seem like an expensive waste for a non-fatal disease. But if we can develop a way to remove toxoplasmosis permanently, then I am sure it would be adopted more quickly.
My idea: nanobots with built in lasers for hunting down disease causing parasites, bacteria and viruses. For prions? Perhaps have nanobots with some storage capability as to contain the prion within itself, rendering it harmless withing the nanobots walls. If everyone has nanobots that destroy diseases as you are infected, what will happen to the human race?

ps. My favorite part of writing science-fiction is speculating, obviously.

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