Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells that divide too rapidly in the body. There are different types of cancer depending on their cause. The known cancer treatments that exist today are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. Although cancer treatments exist today, none of these treatments appear to be as promising as “nanoshells” which present an improvement in sensitivity, specificity and cost-effectiveness compared to other treatments. Naomi Halas, a professor at Rice University with a background in electrical engineering, computer engineering and chemistry, is known for the invention of "nanoshells." These nanoshells are tiny spherical nanoparticles that within their structure contain a dielectric core, which has poor electrical conductivity or is silica-free, and a metallic core that is typically gold. These nanoshells appear to be very promising for therapeutic applications such as that of cancer treatment due to its optical, chemical and physical properties. Because they possess light-absorbing properties, these nanoshells can be made to selectively absorb or scatter light at any wavelength, visible and near-infrared. The interesting thing is that by tuning the nanoshells to absorb infrared radiation, it becomes useful to convert the absorbed radiation into heat that allows tumors to be destroyed. Nanoshells are made up of millions of atoms but are still larger than DNA but smaller than a white blood cell. The body's immune system ignores these tiny particles that are usually ingested by cancer cells only because the blood vessels that feed cancer cells are usually larger, allowing these nanoparticles to enter easily. This allows us easier navigation...... middle of paper....... 01 December 2000. Web. 14 February 2011. Berger, Eric. “Scientists use nanoparticles to 'cook' cancer tumors.” Houston Chronicle. 06 August 2010. Web. 14 February 2011. Glassman, Gary. “Working with nanoshells.” PBS. Ed. Pietro Tyson. NOVA ScienceNOW, 01 April 2005. Web. 14 February. 2011. .