Taming a global killer (Image: Skizzomat/Marie Emmermann
Editorial: Rule out nothing in the investigation of cancer
WHEN Danny Hillis spent a day watching a top surgeon perform keyhole cancer surgery, he was left both exhilarated and depressed. The clinical precision with which the surgeon opened up the patient, used state-of-the-art robotic tools to remove their tumour, and sewed them back up again was breathtaking. It was also deeply disheartening. “With all our science, the best we can do is try to cut the cancer out with a knife,” says Hillis. “That is the caveman approach to disease.”
A few years ago, what he thought would not have mattered. who pioneered the concept of massively parallel computing. His accomplishments include , now exhibited at the Museum of Science in Boston, and creating cutting-edge computer systems for Walt Disney theme park rides and animations. Impressive, but hardly a convincing resumé to pronounce on the shortcomings of modern cancer surgery.
“Hillis had designed theme-park rides for Disney – hardly a convincing resumé to pronounce on modern cancer surgery”
But Hillis’s thoughts and expertise do matter. According to the World Health Organization, . While traditional biological approaches to understanding and combating cancer have had some great successes, mortality rates remain stubbornly high. That’s why last year the US (NCI) enlisted Hillis and other high-powered researchers from physics,…
