I say safe "again" because I honestly don't know where we stand in the back and forth debate between cellphone manufacturers, Chicken Littles and these-are-bad-for-you studies from legitimate scientists.

Were cellphones safe up until now, and this data just reinforces that fact, or was the last study a doom and gloom bombshell that had us all promising to use our phones a few minutes less each day—that is until we realized we love our phones and started using them normally again a few hours later? I can't remember, and neither can my sperm.

In any event, this latest study falls into the "safe" category. Good. And it's a huge study. Also good. Executed by the Danish Cancer Society ad published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the final report details brain cancer rates in Scandinavian countries over the past 30 years. The result? The researchers did not find "any clear change in the long-term time trends in the incidence of brain tumours." There was a slow increase in glioma diagnosis since the 1970s, they note, but the increase could be explained by factors outside of cellphone use. Time to use some minutes!

Regardless of the results, what I do know is that, tumor or no tumor, you'll never catch me wearing a Bluetooth headset. We don't need any additional data on that front. See you all next month when cellphones are bad for you again. [CrunchGear]

The system utilizes a palatometer, a device traditionally used in speech therapy, to track the movement of the tongue. A cluster of 118 pressure sensors collect the data and send it off to be reproduced by a small sound sythesizer that's kept on the person. The device can also be calibrated to recognize inflection, which helps to generate a voice that is far more natural than the raspy or robotic sounds of current devices. Plus, it doesn't require any surgical implants.

Of course, several problems need to be addressed before this technology is ready for prime time. Accuracy can be as high as 94.4 percent, but the library of recognizable words needs to be vastly increased. The system also needs to be converted to wireless and the processing speed needs to be improved. At the moment, there is a one second delay between when the word is mouthed and the sound is produced—making it seem like you are acting in a bad kung-fu movie dubbed in English. The good news is that it probably won't be long before those issues are corrected. [Technology Review via PopSci]

We don't know much about his prognosis, though a letter from his sister says he's "feeling OK." Allen came down with Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in 1983 and beat it, and we're all hoping he can do it again. [TechFlash]

Good God, I'm happy that this story is finally coming out, but it's so heart wrenching to see Kanzius' struggle, desperation, and utter drive to find a way to zap leukemia despite doctors' cautions to the very end. [CBS via Make]

The thing about electroscalpels is that they put off gaeous ions, which, besides being something you shouldn't breath in, it so happens are perfect for being analyzed via mass spectrometry—a method of identifying molecules based on their mass and change. A spectrometer pulls in the fumes from the electroscalpel, and analysis of the chemical sample happens almost instantly, allowing surgeons to, in near real time, "draw a map and say this part is healthy liver, that is connective tissue, this is adipose tissue, that is cancer" according Zoltán Takáts, a Justus-Liebig University professor who came up with the idea.

Like any other technology-driven medical advance when it comes to cancer, it's not cheap to implement: The electrosurgery setup alone is 8 grand, while the mass spectrometry setup is $120,000. I wonder how much the first medical tricorder is gonna cost. [Technology Review]

The team devised a sensor system made from nine chemiresistors that could respond to the biomarkers by altering their electrical properties. The chemiresistors were assembled from gold nanoparticles that are 5nm in diameter and functionalized with different organic compounds that allowed them to sense the biomarkers.

When the researchers exposed the sensors to untreated breath samples, they obtained readings that clearly distinguished between the exhalations of healthy patients and those with lung cancer. Regardless of the humidity of the breath, the gender of its source, or their smoking habits, the sensors were able to detect the lung cancer biomarkers. The sensors were also capable of working with a wide range of concentrations, and the process was reversible, meaning the nanoparticles can be reused.

It's not clear if the new breathalyzers can detect the cancer in its early stages—the study focused on stage-3 or stage-4 patients—but it's a significant step forward in detection nonetheless. Next time you get pulled over on your way home from the bar a DUI may not be the worst news you get. Harsh. [Ars Technica]

Doctors traditionally use MRI and CT scans, and because tumors tend to be stiffer than surrounding tissue, also need to pretty much poke around.

That's where the robots—developed by the University of Western Ontario and Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics (CSTAR)—come in. In tests using cow livers to represent human tissue, the robots' tactile sensors reduced applied force by 35 percent, and systematic tissue mapping made them more accurate.

Sounds intriguing, but let's hope they don't license the tech to the TSA for bots with rubber gloves...[TG Daily and TechRadar]

The man, dubbed Mr. S in news reports, was detained for hours as agents checked to make sure he wasn't some sort of sneaky criminal or terrorist. But no, it turns out his fingerprints were removed without his knowledge.

He was taking capecitabine, a follow-up drug for chemotherapy for cancer of the head and neck. One of its side effects is inflammation of the palms and soles of the feet, which can cause peeling and bleeding of the skin and, eventually, can cause fingerprints to vanish.

Mr. S had been taking capecitabine for three years when he decided to visit relatives in the States, at which point his prints were gone. Luckily, he was eventually allowed to enter the country and visit his relatives once the officials determined that he wasn't dangerous. [ABC News]

While both companies saw explosive growth from when they were founded (both in 1962) until just a few months ago, when the retail sector imploded, the way in which they expanded was markedly different.

Whereas Wal-Mart spread from a central point like your traditional virus, Target was more like a metastasizing cancer, beginning in the central U.S., like Wal-Mart, and then popping up in targets of opportunity wherever there was good business.

And now, just like Wal-Mart, they to have a Gizmodo writer comparing their stores to something terrible that can invade the human body. Victory! [FlowingData]

Up until now, many immunotherapy treatments involved chemicals and drugs designed to coax immune cells into attacking tumors. However, these methods were only about 60 percent effective in clinical trials. This new polymer implant does all of the work inside the body, and has increased the survival rate of mice with a deadly melanoma from 0 to 90 percent in past studies.

First, it attracts dendritic cells by releasing a kind of chemical signal called a cytokine. Once the cells are there, they take up temporary residence inside spongelike holes within the polymer, allowing time for the cells to become highly active.

The polymer carries two signals that serve to activate dendritic cells. In addition to displaying cancer-specific antigens to train the dendritic cells, it is also covered with fragments of DNA, the sequence of which is typical of bacteria. When cells grab on to these fragments, they become highly activated. "This makes the cells think they're in the midst of infection," Mooney explains. "Frequently, the things you can do to cells are transient—especially in cancer, where tumors prevent the immune system from generating a strong response." This extra irritant was necessary to generate a strong response, the Harvard researchers found.

A lot of questions about the effectiveness of this approach in humans have yet to be answered, but if all goes well the hope is that polymer implants could be not only helpful with cancer patients, but also with those afflicted with immune disorders. [Technology Review]

During the study, scientists exposed samples of blood to varying degrees of microwave radiation (including levels well below those emitted by cellphones) for periods between ten to 60 hours. No matter how you cut it, the result was hemoglobin leakage (which just sounds nasty). Obviously, heart disease is the most serious condition of the two, but I can tell you from experience that you don't want any part of a kidney stone either. Those things could make even Chuck Norris cry like a little girl.

I wouldn't say that this test was the most thorough ever conducted, but I think deep down we all know that when all is said and done, the final verdict about cellphone use is going to be grim. [MINA via textually]

Israeli researchers in the study found that regular cellphones users are a whopping 50 percent more likely than non-users to get brain tumors. Another Interphone study looking at the UK and Scandinavia found a 40 percent greater tumor risk in people who've used cellphones for over 10 years, though on the bright side, nothing scary for people who've used them for less than a decade.

The final results of Interphone's study are highly anticipated as the first study to provide close to a definitive answer on the cellphone cancer question, since as PopSci notes, most of the other studies "have been statistically useless," since they didn't survey enough people and looked at too many that had less than 10 years of cellphone use under the belt, which is how long it takes brain cancer to develop "in most cases."

PopSci's assessment of the gravity of the situation is close to spot-on—definitive proof that cellphones cause cancer would probably be the along the same lines as discovering that tobacco causes cancer, but you know, huger, since almost everyone uses a cellphone, from pre-schoolers to grandmas. I guess it's a good thing I rarely use my iPhone for talking. How would you react if cellphones definitely caused cancer? [Pop Sci]

However, like any medical invention, there's testing and trials to be done, and this lightsaber cancer-fighter is no exception. Still, hearing the inventor describe this thing you can't help but get excited.

"We can use lasers to punch tiny holes exactly where we want them," said Dr. Frank Gunn-Moore. "We can produce a rod of light - sometimes described as a sword - that can even go around objects. It really does sound like science fiction."

The good doctor doesn't plan on stopping with cancer, either. Other diseases, such as Alzheimer's, are potential targets too. Good form. [Herald Sun, thanks Yash!]

The beauty of this prototype is that it can work inside an MRI thanks to its titanium and stainless steel construction. Everything from biopsy, to diagnosis to cancer-hunting is all completed within the MRI, making for a convenient one stop trip for patients.

The robot kills cancer cells by way of a probe that is inserted into the breast until it reaches the tumor. The probe then burns the cells until they're all dead. Researchers say the robot, if successfully deployed into the medical field, could consolidate three months of hospital trips into a single visit. Better yet, the robot will also be able to access parts of the human body that human surgeons can't, although researchers didn't elaborate much on that point.

Unfortunately, the robot is a prototype, and trials are estimated at four years out, if they happen at all. "We're not just governed by technology," said said Rao Gullapalli, a collaborator on the robot from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. "We're governed by bureaucracy as well." [Diamondback Online via Slashdot]

I know, how can I talk bad about someone giving money to cancer research? So ungrateful! So taboo!

The sad fact is, as big of a failure as RED products may be (some projections show more money spent on advertising than goes to cancer research), most RED-participating companies are giving a lot more money per product to charity than Nintendo is here. Gap has passed on 50% of their profits on RED items and Apple has given 10% of the total price (probably their entire profit) on iTunes gift cards. And they're just the tip of the iceberg.

Meanwhile, the company that is making $1.6 million per employee is slapping a ribbon on a device, tossing spare change in the face a cause and probably netting more money because of it.

$5 doesn't even come close to Nintendo's profits per DS.

This isn't a donation. This is exploitation. Nintendo, you can do better. [Amazon via Kotaku]

"Patients often don't die from primary tumors, which you can recognize and detect and develop a therapy for," said Cheresh. "They die from metastatic disease — when, for example, a breast cancer spreads to the liver, the lymph nodes, the brain. Those patients could theoretically be treated with this type of therapy, with the hope that it would prolong the progression of the disease, that the metastatic lesions would slow."

The nanomachines don't just help kill cancer and stop it from sprreading, they can even be used to detect cancer early as well. We'd like scientists to develop these nano bots to give us superpowers like super vision and super strength, but saving us from dying is a pretty super too. [Wired]

The "CTC-chip" itself is a business-card sized silicon chip that features microscopic posts coated with cancer-detecting antibodies. As blood flows over the chip, the posts "trap" cancer cells, leaving healthy cells behind. Tests have proven the chip to be 99% effective in detecting CTC cells in samples—representing a vast improvement over current methods.

So what does this all mean? First and foremost, it means that cancer treatment can become more personalized. It means that determining whether or not a particular treatment is effective will be easier—saving patients precious time. It could also lead to better methods of cancer screening and a better understanding of the biology of cancer cells and how they spread throughout the body. It may not be the cure everyone is looking for, but the notion that the CTC chip could help doctors make faster and more effective judgments on when to switch treatments is certainly better than wasting a suffering patient's time with treatments that aren't working. [Press Release and Reuters via MedGadget]

Philips' scanner can give a patient a full body scan in less than a minute — and exposes them to 80 per cent less radiation than a traditional X-ray machine. The machine scans the body as well as rotating around it, sending out 256 pulses every one-third of a second. It is so powerful that it can capture an unblurred image of an entire heart in less than two heartbeats.

The machine could prove useful in the battle against cancer. As well as picking up tumors in the body, the scanner should be able to show medics how the disease spreads and new patterns of abnormality. There is currently just one 256-slice scanner in use, at the Metro Health medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. [Daily Mail]