Anti-matter first gained the attention of many geeks as it is the important half of the fuel source that helps run the USS Enterprise’s Warp Core engine in the fictional Star Trek TV series and Star Trek Movies. Now Anti-matter is getting some real world attention as it might also be the breakthrough secret to battling cancer in the future.

Techniques developed by atomic physicists are being used to develop the first of what promises to be a new generation of cancer treatments in place of conventional radiotherapy. One day doctors could even be using anti-matter.

…Cancer cells were successfully targeted with anti-matter subatomic particles, causing intense biological damage leading to cell death.

…These pilot experiments may have future potential. But applications borrowed from particle physics are already being used in cancer treatment to help avoid the major side effects of radiotherapy.

[Particle physics on the cancer ward]

[tags]cancer, radiotherapy, anti-matter, anti matter, particle physics, star trek[/tags]