Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

High School Freshman Confounds Researchers, Invents New Pancreatic Cancer Test
DailyTech ^ | May 25, 2012 | Jason Mick

Posted on 05/28/2012 6:20:23 PM PDT by neverdem

15-year-old nabs $100,000 top prize in Intel-sponsored competition; his "dipstick" test is 90 percent accurate

Jack Andraka. Andraka.

"Keep that last name in mind. You're going to read about him a lot in the years to come. What I tell my lab is, 'Think of Thomas Edison and the light bulb.' This kid is the Edison of our times. There are going to be a lot of light bulbs coming from him."

Those are bold words, bolder still given that their source is one of the top medical researchers in the nation. But Dr. Anirban Maitra, a pathology professor at John Hopkins University firmly believes what he says.

I. HS Freshman Invents Test That's 100x as Sensitive

The invention is incredible. A "dipstick" style sensor, it is 90 percent accurate at testing for pancreatic cancer in blood samples. It's also being considered as a prime candidate for testing for other diseases.

When it comes to pancreatic cancer timing is crucial. Late detection or refusal to seek treatment can be deadly. Indeed, this same cancer took a great toll on tech luminary and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) founder Steven P. Jobs, first claiming his liver with its complications, and later his life.

Incredibly, Mr. Andraka, a mere boy at 15, claims to have come up with the underlying idea for his method at just 3 years old, when he found that by dropping objects into a flowing river, he could test the current. Encouraged by his parents -- a civil engineer (his father) and an anesthetist (his mother) -- and their small library of science magazines, the spark grew in the young man's mind.

That spark grew into the fire of a bold idea, after Mr. Andraka emailed 200 Johns Hopkins professors, University of Maryland professors, and officials at the National Institutes...

(Excerpt) Read more at dailytech.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Testing
KEYWORDS: cancer; dsj; mesothelin; pancreaticcancer; pancreaticcancertest
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-25 last
To: A.A. Cunningham

He cheated Tesla out of 50K


21 posted on 05/29/2012 3:00:40 AM PDT by saintgermaine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: A.A. Cunningham

He cheated Tesla out of 50K


22 posted on 05/29/2012 3:01:12 AM PDT by saintgermaine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: COUNTrecount

CA-125 about which there is debate that it is “expensive” and has false positives and causes “anxiety”. That is bogus in alot of peoples’ opinions.

It along with a vaginal ultrasound can pick up early ovarian cancer.

If a woman has a first degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer, she should get it and the ultrasound YEARLY! And demand it! My daughters and nieces do.

I paid gor my genetic testing mainly so my daughters wouldn’t.

So, if you have an aunt or sister or granny with breast cancer, get it done regularly. I wish I had.


23 posted on 05/29/2012 5:55:54 AM PDT by cajungirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: COUNTrecount

CA-125 about which there is debate that it is “expensive” and has false positives and causes “anxiety”. That is bogus in alot of peoples’ opinions.

It along with a vaginal ultrasound can pick up early ovarian cancer.

If a woman has a first degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer, she should get it and the ultrasound YEARLY! And demand it! My daughters and nieces do.

I paid gor my genetic testing mainly so my daughters wouldn’t.

So, if you have an aunt or sister or granny with breast cancer, get it done regularly. I wish I had.


24 posted on 05/29/2012 5:55:54 AM PDT by cajungirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: COUNTrecount

PS, I have told everyone about this and THREE young women I know have been diagnosed with early cancer, two are great, one notso. All three fought to get the test and one even with a positive reading, a very high reading was put off for over six momths before she was scanned. It shocked me.

I am so far in remission for two years and am incredibly lucky unlike most women who die pretty fast.

Cost efficent decisions can be deadly.


25 posted on 05/29/2012 6:01:12 AM PDT by cajungirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-25 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson