PRESENTER: Welcome to the first part of Science Today. In this program we will be reporting on the latest developments from the world of science and technology. We have spoken with experts on a range of fascinating subjects, from new techniques developed in the fight against cancer and newly discovered animals species to asteroids approaching the Earth and fossils dating back millions of years.
Before moving on to our reports, let us remember the words of Hazrat Ali; “Science raises the lowly, but ignorance brings down the lofty.”
Now let us set on this month’s tour of science in order for us to raise our mental horizons.
- A new drug in the treatment of cancer … The drug ChiLob 7/4 developed by British scientists works in a different way to traditional cancer treatments. To date, scientists have generally adopted methods that target the cancer cell. The aim of this new drug, however, is to strengthen the body’s immunity that is weakened by cancer cells and this to allow the body to fight the cancer cells themselves.
PRESENTER: As you know, the immune system is one of the most intelligent systems in our bodies. When a cancer cell starts multiplying, the body’s defense systems immediately go into action. Macrophages and T cells start destroying the cancerous tumor at great speed and with huge organization, before the person concerned is aware of anything. They generally succeed in that task. However, in one sense, cancer cells are anarchists. They recognize no rules. They constantly try to multiply and to enter other parts of the body by infiltrating the circulation and lymph systems. At that point, external intervention is required.
- The newly developed drug ChiLob 7/4 has been tested on 26 patients, and quite successful results have been obtained. The EU has therefore announced that it is setting aside 5 million euros for the scientists in the study.
PRESENTER: The aim of this new drug is to restructure the functioning of the marvelous defense system in our bodies. In one sense it adds more effective techniques to the body’s defensive strategies, suited to the potential of the enemy. Prof. Martin Glennie, the oncologist in charge of the laboratory studies, said that cancer cells could be targeted by increasing immune cells through vaccination.
PRESENTER: Our next report concerns a new technology that may give rise to very positive outcomes in treating cancer; a super-fine camera capable of visualizing a single cell.
- A new age had already dawned with the development of therapeutic techniques for examining the interior of the body through endoscopy using a mini-camera. Now scientists have gone one step further and have managed to create these mini-cameras as thin as a single hair. Thus super-thin camera will make it possible to also examine the brain. The technology developed by Joseph Kahn, a Stanford University professor of electrical engineering, and his team can show the glorious structure of the body’s cells at the micro level on screens, at very high resolutions.
- So what are the advantages of this camera? We asked the Turkish brain surgeon Dr. Oktar Babuna what advantages this new technology camera offers for brain surgery.
DR. OKTAR BABUNA INTERVIEW: In addition to gaining doctors time in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, it also reduces the risk of error to a minimum. Because the difference between this camera and previous technologies is the ability to visualize a single cell independently.
There is a glorious and extraordinary activity inside of our cells, which are approximately 1/1000 of a millimeter in size. Some 500 molecules pass in and out of the membrane around the cell nucleus alone. Let me give a comparison so we can better grasp the complexity of the traffic. Imagine 500 vehicles a second passing both ways through a freeway toll booth. But this happens so flawlessly that none of these 500 vehicles a second ever collide, obstruct one another or block the road. That sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But this huge flow of traffic continues every second in every one of the 100 trillion cells in our bodies.
When there is an abnormality in a cell, our aim is to observe this at the cellular level right from the outset. With present-day technology we can only detect a cancer cell when it reaches a size of half or one centimeter. With this (new technology) camera it is possible to detect diseases inside the cerebral blood vessels and other sensitive tissues right from the earliest stages.
PRESENTER: Newly developing technologies reveal the artistry in our creation in the most immaculate manner. As the world famous professor of mathematics Cahit Arf says, “Societies that are unable to produce science, and the technology that is a product of it, lose their independence, and thus their happiness.” And science helps us understand the flawlessness in the systems created by Allah much better, which in turn, . And that increase our love of Allah and happiness. Therefore, as Prof. Arf says, societies that think along these lines will surely enjoy higher levels of well-being and happiness.
