Prostate cancer becomes deadly when it spreads to other organs, leading scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara to develop a new method of tracking down a marker found on the surface of cancer cells and distinguishing it from healthy cells. The approach involves silver nanoparticles that bind to the tumor marker neuropilin-1 on the surface of cancer cells or receptors found on a variety of cells. The nanoparticles are introduced to a blood sample that is analyzed with laser spectroscopy to detect the ratio of signals from cancer cells and non-cancerous cells. Item