Teenager finds way to detect pancreatic cancer but is rejected by 197 scientists

[Deleted]

So this teenager found a way to detect pancreatic cancer... yet when he asked for help from scientists, 197 rejected him directly, some even telling him it would not work without even testing his idea.

I suspect that for every layperson who approaches a scientist with a good, working idea, there's already been a thousand crackpots with crackpot ideas. After a while it simply starts to make sense to dismiss laypeople out of hand.

It's certainly true in mathematics. People are still bothering mathematicians with "proofs" of things that have already been disproved.

[Deleted]

I suspect that for every layperson who approaches a scientist with a good, working idea, there's already been a thousand crackpots with crackpot ideas. After a while it simply starts to make sense to dismiss laypeople out of hand.

It's certainly true in mathematics. People are still bothering mathematicians with "proofs" of things that have already been disproved.

True, but this one kind of proved he is right, people didn't even want to listen to his theory and how it worked, they just heard what it does and shunned him. That's now what you do.

[Kasierith]

He wants to get it patented himself then sell it if he can.

There is no money in the cure though, sadly. Hence rejection.

No, there is tons of money in the early diagnosis (not a cure, although that would bring even more money). What most people don't realize is that the pharmaceutical agency is not one single, unified mass controlling prices on a whim, but a number of bodies actively competing with each other with thousands of research labs off to the side who would happily leap on the chance to patent something IF, and only if, they believe the return worth the investment. A 15 year old boy emailing a bunch of labs and asking to use their limited resources is not so much a sign of apathy within the scientific community, but an indication of the strain of resources and time and the ability of a lab to freeload a high school student's theory.

[Rukentuts]

There is no money in the cure though, sadly. Hence rejection.

Where there is demand, there is money to be had. Do you think there is consumer demand for a cure?

[Deleted]

Where there is demand, there is money to be had. Do you think there is consumer demand for a cure?

That's the whole deal, this is not a cure, this is an early detection method. By this method, you detect it early and as such cure it fast.

Now let's go by former idea. Prostate cancer isn't so easy to find, so most times you discover it late and have to take tons of medicine, do special treatments and there still isn't a chance to live through.

So now think, from which do you get more money? Finding fast and cheap and then fixing it fast or finding late, and living years and years on medicine and expensive treatments?

[Rukentuts]

That's the whole deal, this is not a cure, this is an early detection method. By this method, you detect it early and as such cure it fast.

I was going off on the whole "they won't cure cancer because there's no money in it" crowd.

[shise]

Why would you cure it when you get a buttload of money of it? now i don't agree with that, but money sure does.

Exactly, and that's actually the whole point of cancer. However, some people still live in a fantasy world where everyone is good and want people to be healthy at any cost... my ass.

Also, it's a great way to keep a bit of control over population. We are way too many, so why stop someting that kills millions for free?

[killerlee]

Exactly, and that's actually the whole point of cancer. However, some people still live in a fantasy world where everyone is good and want people to be healthy at any cost... my ass.

Also, it's a great way to keep a bit of control over population. We are way too many, so why stop someting that kills millions for free?

This guy gets it lol. There is no money in the cure, all anyone cares about even hospitals is MONEY.

I know/believe there are cures for cancer out there, but of course they aren't going to release it anytime soon because there is no money in the cure AT ALL.

[Kasierith]

This guy gets it lol. There is no money in the cure, all anyone cares about even hospitals is MONEY.

I know/believe there are cures for cancer out there, but of course they aren't going to release it anytime soon because there is no money in the cure AT ALL.

Is there demand for a cure? Yes or no.

[Deleted]

I was going off on the whole "they won't cure cancer because there's no money in it" crowd.

Ah ok. Though you need to take in mind that they are partially true. There are some (not all) medicine companies that try to hide stuff and tell lies to sell their products. For example, iodate salt. Every medicine company (here at least) claims it's amazing and good and helps your immunity system and whatnot.

What they fail to mention however is that if all the salt is iodate(I see this word keeps being marked as wrong, but it's about iodine, that orange solution you can put on wounds) a person can get an overdose of iodine in their body, and in time, this actually affects them a lot. Plus, some people have problems that require non-iodine, yet they can't go around it, for even if they don't buy it from the shop, that chicken they buy from the market might have some on it to keep it fresh for a bit longer.

Exactly, and that's actually the whole point of cancer. However, some people still live in a fantasy world where everyone is good and want people to be healthy at any cost... my ass.

Also, it's a great way to keep a bit of control over population. We are way too many, so why stop someting that kills millions for free?

The part about control over population I don't agree with, seriously, this goes a bit too conspiracy theory. They do it because it gives them money and they don't care about other people besides themselves, yes, but to kill other people on purpose I don't think so. This is a case of greed over life rather then hatred over life plus bonus money.

Plus, a better population control would be getting rid of those that are not useful, yet cancer and many other diseases hit on people who are extremely useful to society sometimes... kind of goes against the idea, doesn't it?

[Garnier Fructis]

Until this has been published in peer reviewed journals, and replicated, it's still "cold fusion" territory. People said the power companies were suppressing cold fusion too, and all sorts of crap like that. I'd love if it were true, because then in just 5 years we'd have free energy and amazing medicine, and who-knows-what else. But these stories, overwhelmingly, tend not to be true.

Now, conspiracy theories can be a form of social commentary. We use them in WoW, making ridiculous conspiracy theories to explain developer decisions, when what we're really saying is that their motivations are so flawed that the conspiracy theory might as well be true. Not that it's really true. It's satire. But it's one thing to do it on a gaming forum, poking fun at developers. It's another thing to present it as a news item about science and medicine. It's far less excusable there.

I'm going to have to agree with Morsker. Extraordinary claims need to be peer reviewed, and this is quite extraordinary. And before someone says it, no, asking 197 scientists is not peer review. Submitting a paper for publication, is.

[Deleted]

Ye totally... we are too many on planet earth, thats why we don't try to detect or cure cancer and other diseases.... I'm not even gonna continue saying something else, would bring me an infraction in a second, not worth it.

Its interesting that this young man found about this way of testing, too bad no one's _Now_ is gonna give it a shot and confirms his method. Someone will definently in the future.

[Citrustree]

Some of the points raised in this thread are quite ridiculous:

First off, there is no cure for cancer. Cancer is a superficial word for numerous types of tumorous growths in our body, and there will never be one cure for all cancer types. It's impossible (Nanotechnology which we might have in the future does not count). So doctors are definitiely not withholding a "cure for cancer" just because they want more money. That point is, as I said, ridiculous.

Secondly, in todays scientific society, one should learn to be careful with sensationalistic articles. And this article sounds a bit sensationalistic. Now, I am not saying that the kid found something that couldn't be helpful for detecting pancreatic cancer, I'm just saying that Scientists know what they are doing. They didn't go through college/university to get a degree for nothing. What makes the article even more suspicious and pseudoscientific, is that they didn't declare the Sensitivity and the Specifity of the test.

The world isn't as bad as you guys think it is. Grow up. Learn to see it with different eyes. It's pretty awesome once you look at it from a different perspective.

[Byniri]

Why would you cure it when you get a buttload of money of it? now i don't agree with that, but money sure does.

You're awesome for linking this vid.

[Deleted]

I can't help but think that many of some (if not many) of the scientists rejected him just because he was a teenager.

[staart]

So you're saying scientists have to listen to every hundreds of laymen telling them what to do with little or no proof, instead of doing their own research? Get a grip on reality

[Garnier Fructis]

So you're saying scientists have to listen to every hundreds of laymen telling them what to do with little or no proof, instead of doing their own research? Get a grip on reality

Sensationalism is part of why people don't trust scientists. It's really sad.

[Prokne]

I'm going to have to agree with Morsker. Extraordinary claims need to be peer reviewed, and this is quite extraordinary. And before someone says it, no, asking 197 scientists is not peer review. Submitting a paper for publication, is.

Not to mention it didnt even say what kind of scientists rejected his idea or wouldnt help him. A lot of people will reject something like this because they dont have the expertise to do it or the facilities.

If you submit a physics idea to a biologist they are either going to ignore you or tell you to go somewhere else.

[Annapolis]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned this yet. If you read the Forbes article it has been modified with this statement:

(Update: Readers have pointed out that Andraka is not the first to create a sensor of carbon nanotubes coated with antibodies. Here is a paper from 2008 by researchers at the University of Delaware who created an exceptionally sensitive sensor for cancer breast cells, and a July 2009 paper from researchers in South Korea working with prostate cancer cells.)

His leap of logic that got him $75,000 dollars seems to be that he proposes that it be used in pancreatic cancer studies as well and did a study to show its efficacy. I think it's a bit disingenuous of him to say "I work in a John's Hopkins lab, but I came up with the idea all by myself" after talking about the carbon nanotubes coated with antibodies. He deserves credit for applying the technique across different fields, but not the development of the technique itself.

[Deleted]

This guy gets it lol. There is no money in the cure, all anyone cares about even hospitals is MONEY.

I know/believe there are cures for cancer out there, but of course they aren't going to release it anytime soon because there is no money in the cure AT ALL.

Still think socialist medical care is the big bad beast so many people seem to think it is?