A new discovery in the fight against cancer:

Researchers at Rice University in the US have conducted a promising new study. Scientists researching the fight against cancer have discovered that a specific type of molecule "shatters" the membranes of cancer cells when activated. 

In the method, which researchers call a "molecular jackhammer," they found that stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light causes a synchronized vibration strong enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells.

The use of aminocyanine molecules, which are commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, was 99 percent effective against human melanoma cells in a laboratory setting. Half of the mice with melanoma tumors were completely cured of cancer after being treated with this method.

Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, a member of the research team, stated, "These molecules are simple dyes that people have used for a long time. They are biocompatible, stable in water, and very good at attaching themselves to the fatty outer coating of cells. But even though they were being used for imaging, people didn't know how to use them as 'molecular jackhammers'."