technology

A new way of looking at mesothelioma cancer cells is revealing some important information about the ways in which asbestos fibers affect human lung tissue. A group of Italian researchers used a combination of synchrotron soft X-ray imaging and fluorescence microscopy to shed light on exactly what makes asbestos fibers so deadly.  When it is inhaled, asbestos triggers a chain of events that can lead to mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lung lining, as well as a host of other serious lung diseases.  The goal of the Italian study was to better understand the response of lung tissue to asbestos, which can help scientists in their efforts to develop effective mesothelioma treatments. In the lungs, iron-containing asbestos fibers irritate the tissue,…