Slow electrons to combat cancer

Slow electons can be used to destroy cancer cells – but how exactly this happens has not been well understood. Now scientists have been able to demonstrate that a previously little-observed effect actually plays a pivotal role: Due to a process called interatomic Coulombic decay, an ion can pass on additional energy to surrounding atoms. This frees a huge number of electrons, with precisely the right amount of energy to cause optimal damage to the DNA of the cancer cells.

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