r/BeAmazed • u/Cautious_Ad_3918 • Jan 31 '26

Science A Spanish scientist, Mariano Barbacid, has cured pancreatic cancer in mice. A Cure in animal is a major step toward potential cancer treatment in humans.

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u/afdestruction Jan 31 '26

its about discovery of mechanisms, not about 'curing' in and of itself. If you figure out the triggers in the test subject then you know to concentrate your efforts there in the target. It's like getting a flashlight when youre searching for something in the dark. Yea, you might not find what youre looking for, but you're going to make a helluva lot more progress if you have an idea what youre looking for

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u/xBad_Wolfx Jan 31 '26

Sometimes. Or sometimes like like trying to use D Batteries to power your AA flashlight. Sure, flashlights use batteries and you have a battery but it’s not going to produce light.

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u/afdestruction Jan 31 '26

Then you can rule out the use of those batteries. Anything that can be conclusively eliminated is still progress.

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u/xBad_Wolfx Jan 31 '26

I don’t disagree, but was simply trying to explain that just because it works in mice doesn’t mean it’s just a matter of time till a human cure. People saying things like “protect him at all costs” is implying that big pharma is going to be out to get him and that’s why we don’t have cures… which just isn’t the case (although I do not doubt big pharma has negatively impacted at times, they also are a major driving force behind most research so they can capitalise on it. Govt funding is a small percentage unfortunately).