Scientists contend that glowing jellyfish can detect cancer using a process called “virimaging” that illuminates tinier growths.  If proven to be effective, this may be a marvel of science, and great news in detecting and treating the deadly pancreatic cancer.

As the pink ribbons that celebrated “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month” are replaced by purple ribbons to celebrate “National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month”, researchers have revealed a medical breakthrough in tumor surveillance.

Researchers at the Yorkshire Cancer Research Center at York University say that by using glowing jellyfish, they can detect cancer at much earlier stages and deeper inside the human body.

In a process called, “virimaging”, scientists take the illuminated cells from a glowing jellyfish and inject them with a specially made virus designed to track cancerous cells. once the proteins reach the tumor, they light up and allow a special camera to reveal the presence of the mutated cells 10 times better than a CT scan.

Because this month is meant to bring awareness to pancreatic cancer, could this technology serve to help diagnose the presence of cancer of the pancreas much sooner, offering improved chances of survival?

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadliest forms of cancer.  Sadly, over 90% of sufferers succumb to the deadly condition because it is so difficult to detect at the early stages.  when patients present with symptoms of the insidious disease, they are already in the advanced stages, making is difficult for even the most aggressive treatments to work.

Recent evidence points to the fact that cancer cells of the pancreas are among the slowest growing, often taking two decades for a patient to show symptoms of its presence.  There are just no credible screening sources to detect the presence of pancreatic cancer on a routine basis.

If glowing jellyfish can detect cancer at the cellular level and much deeper inside the body, this can mean the difference between a slow death and complete eradication.

Professor Maitland, one of the researchers who discovered “virimaging”, says that the technology of using glowing jellyfish to detect cancer can be made available for use in less than 10 years.

This new technology proves that nature has a way of providing the body of science with more means of cancer detection if a step away from the conventional is practiced. because pancreatic cancer carries a grim prognosis, the use of glowing jellyfish to help in its detection can only save lives.

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