64.637 Online Users China scientists show how arsenic treats
blood cancer Scientists in China have demonstrated how arsenic
-- a favorite murder weapon in the Middle Ages -- destroys
deadly blood cancer by targeting and killing specific proteins
that keep the cancer alive. "Our study showed how arsenic
directly targets these proteins and kills them," lead researcher
Zhang Xiaowei at the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics in
Shanghai, China, told Reuters. "Unlike chemotherapy, the side
effects of arsenic (in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia)
are very low. There is no hair loss or suppression of bone
marrow (function). We are interested in finding out how arsenic
can be used in other cancers," Zhang said by telephone. Well
known for its toxicity, arsenic was regarded in the past as the
king among poisons because its symptoms are like those of
cholera and can often go undetected. In China, however, it has
long served a dual purpose. Apart from intentional poisoning, it
has been used for at least 2,000