The aim of this paper is to analyze the article “Using genetically-modified bacteria to fight cancer at Johns Hopkins†by John F. Cox. To do so, a concise summary of the article will be provided, followed by a review of its relevance to the course. Also, the writer will address the reason why the article caught their attention, as well as give an opinion on the best mode of funding for the research.
Summary
In his article, Cox (2005) reports how scientists are developing an interesting type of therapy as they seek to find a remedy for cancer. The novel technique involves the use of Clostridium novyi. This is a bacterium that has undergone genetic modification to remove its lethal toxin. Although the experiment has only been tested on lab animals (rabbits, rats, and mice), preliminary results, however, show that when tumor cells are infected with C. novyi, the bacterium renders them vulnerable. C. novyi is mobile by nature and it thrives under an anaerobic environment. Consequently, blood supply to the inner core of a tumor is relatively poor, causing an oxygen-deficient environment. Once C. novyi has been injected into a tumor, its mobile nature enables it to penetrate to the inner core of the tumor without causing any harm to healthy cells. Since the local environment is oxygen deficient, secretion of C. novyi destroys the tumor. Once the trial animals at Johns Hopkins had been injected with the bacteria, the researcher observed that their immune system was triggered to initiate an attack on the tumor.
