Calif. HS student devises possible cancer cure

If you ever worry about the future of America, there is no need: it is in good hands. A high school student named Angela is proof of that. We think you'll agree she is nothing short of amazing. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman met her on the road.

Born to Chinese immigrants, 17-year-old Angela Zhang of Cupertino, California is a typical American teenager. She's really into shoes and is just learning how to drive.

But there is one thing that separates her from every other student at Monta Vista High School, something she first shared with her chemistry teacher, Kavita Gupta.

It's a research paper Angela wrote in her spare time -- and it is advanced, to say the least. Gupta says all she knows is its recipe -- for curing cancer.

"Cure for cancer -- a high school student," said Gupta. "It's just so mind-boggling. I just cannot even begin to comprehend how she even thought about it or did this."

"I just thought, 'Why not?' 'What is there to lose?'" said Angela.

When she was a freshman, she started reading doctorate level papers on bio-engineering.

"At first it was a little bit overwhelming," said Angela, "but I found that it almost became like a puzzle, being able to decode something."

By sophomore year she'd talked her way into the lab at Stanford, and by junior year was doing her own research.

In a lab area, Hartman asked Angela: "Try and make it for a feeble mind, such as this one, to understand."

Angela: "So I made something that's an iron-oxide, gold dangle...

Hartman: "You lost me." (laughter)

Eventually, here's what he did get.

Angela's idea was to mix cancer medicine in a polymer that would attach to nanoparticles -- nanoparticles that would then attach to cancer cells and show up on an MRI. so doctors could see exactly where the tumors are. Then she thought shat if you aimed an infrared light at the tumors to melt the polymer and release the medicine, thus killing the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells completely unharmed.

"I think it was more of a -- 'This is really cool, I want to see if it works' -- type thing," she said.

"And when you found out it did..." asked Hartman.

"That was pretty amazing."

It'll take years to know if it works in humans -- but in mice -- the tumors almost completely disappeared.

Angela recently entered her project in the national Siemens science contest. It was no contest. She got a check for $100,000 and promptly bought about a dozen more pairs of shoes.

"I got these shoes because they're purple and I didn't have purple yet," she explained.

Easy to forget, she is still high school. It's just her dreams that keep graduating.

"I'm excited to learn just everything possible," she said. "Everything in the sciences -- biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, even computer science -- to make new innovations possible."

Pretty big flats to fill. How will she top her cancer discovery? We can't wait.

[SUJAYPINK]

I THINK CANCER CAN BE CURED, AT FIRST WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT CAN CANCER CELL THAT NORMAL CELL CAN'T DO. WE HAVE TO FIND WEAK POINT OF CANCER CELL.......IF WE KNOW WEAK POINT OF CANER CELL THEN WE CAN UTILIZE IT BY ATTACK ON THIS POINT.................................................................

[jel3j2]

It is very good to see teenagers that are interested in advanced sciences. When I was 18 years of age, I too had a similar nano-particle cure for cancer. The idea used gold to be ingested by the cancer patient. Well, lack of money and not knowing the right people made that dream non-real. Years later, I discovered the work of David Radius Hudson using Rhodium and Iridium to combat cancer. The rhodium and iridium he used was in a room-temperature super-conductive state. These particles were classified as monatoms or nano-particles. There has been much study in this area over the last twenty years. Interesting how a teen-aged girl made this discovery.

[rentalcity]

was wondering if anyone knows if there is a trial for humans anywhere regarding this type of treatment. My mom has no other hope than something like this. If it even just shrinks it some, she would get some relief.

[SunnySinCA]

Hi, rentalcity. There are two trials recruiting that I know of:
http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT01679470
http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00848042

[JWCBS]

Ridding the body of cancer cells is only half the battle, the other half is keeping the cancer from coming back. It's the difference between remission and cure, which is a matter of degree of health. Consider health on a 1-10 scale where 10 is optimal health. Through poor diet and lifestyle your health index slides to 4. A mutation in DNA causes cancer to manifest and the patient isn't healthy enough for its immune system to get rid of it. Treatment removes all the abnormal cells but the stress of the treatment leaves the patient at a health index of 3.5. Is the cancer in remission or cured? It's in remission and will return when another DNA mutation causes cancer. The common symptom in every disease is the loss of health. A primary focus in cancer treatment should be to restore what's been lost and to actively promote health to the point where the patient can't be sick. http://dietadvisor.com/papers_letters_abstract_cancer.htm

[kevcl6750]

Bravo !

[BigCatOne]

So cool. Thanks, Angela!

[Bill_from_NH]

To all those cynics... I have a carburetor that will let your car get 250 miles to the gallon. Oh - and the government and the oil companies have suppressed its sales. ...and I have a bridge for sale, too.

[patshanet]

before you try to be funny with your comments you might want to research them first. there was a carburator built in canada bac in the 30's or 40' that got 250 mpg and it was a U.S. car company came and bought the patent from them and nothing came of it.

[mobius1r]

I am a graduate student in health psychology working on a my Ph.D. I am also the inventor of the PyramiTroniX Resonator a pyramid mind machine that is a radionics machine. This device allows a non-invasive approach to devitalizing cancer cells by imploding the cell with its own electromagnetic signature (mortality oscillation rate). Further, Bob Beck, invented the Beck Protocol. I suggest that if you want to eradicate cancer and NOT speculate and prolong cancer let us start using first a non-invasive cancer regimen. Unfortunately, these methods are suppressed by our own government. Let us not listen to the ideas of a 17 year old who is NOT even from this country.

[ChickaD123]

She is an American, and is an example that we do have gifted students here and don't need to import them from abroad, especially from countries that are rivals and enemies.

[UniversityStudent369]

Could you please provide papers to support your PyramiTroniX Resonator and its efficacy as a radionics machine? Most scholarly articles I have come across have denounced it as pure myth and fantasy. I work in the Medical School as an undergraduate researcher in Washington University in St. Louis. I only found videos of you talking about possible ways to fund your research; there are so many sources of funding for medical research, so did they all find you credible or incredible? Finally, I somewhat bristle at your comment about the ideas of a 17 year old not "of this country." As an American-born citizen with immigrant parents, this country is just as much ours as it is yours.

[patshanet]

does it really matter were the person is from? do you think if someone from another country found a cure only the people of that country would be able to get the cure no the rest of the world be able to use it to. plus if you look into it you will see if you are born in America you are a Amrican citizen.

[notanidiot16162]

you HAVE to be a troll.

And there's no way you're an american with english like "Further, Bob Beck, invented the Beck Protocol."

[pegasus1945]

Good for her! They should invest millions into a person like this and give her more advanced education, this girl could do anything with a little bit of help.

And to think she is only a 17 year old high school student. Great job!

[obbop]

If only the tidal wave of illegal alien invaders were from China, Korea, Japan etc rather then the ignorant barbarians from the south who so often ridicule education and educational attainments the USA would be much better off.

[animaltoo]

Behind you 100% on that. Too bad the President and DOJ are not on our side on this issue.

[Yankiboquense]

You are an idiot to say this. Ignorant Barbarians? My parents are from South America as*wipe. I served my country(USA) for 21 years in the military. You have the balls to say this?

[gdelzer]

Then she thought what? I would have thought that would be picked up by the censors.

[JABV5225]

proofreaders. There are no censors on most websites. . . and there don't seem to be any proofreaders either.

[RangerDan107]

It was supposed to be "that"

[animaltoo]

There are plenty of censors on websites. For example...