“Tumors feel the deadly sting of nanobees”

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has some clever researchers, but it looks like their finest minds may be in their PR department.

When their researchers developed a new cancer drug derived from bee venom, and then a novel method of delivering it with nanoparticles,  the next thing they needed was a name. The clichéd  ”magic bullets” simply would not do: they needed something that would perfectly convey the concept of being injected with a swarm of tiny robot bees, driven by a hivemind hellbent on the destruction of their target. What to call these tiny stinging particles of dooooom?

Nanobees, that’s what. As a name it’s perfect: for a start it has given journalists an opportunity to make endless puns, and that never does any harm. For patients the name is sci-fi enough to scream “you’re getting some seriously 21st Century medicine here”, but cute enough to put the nanotech naysayers at ease.

Best of all, the name explains the treatment mechanism beautifully. “Nanobees” is a wonderful analogy, and in a world where the media do their best to confuse patients, we could do with more of those. Manufacturers of other treatments should follow suit: acupuncture needles could be rebranded as “Money Mosquitoes” and homeopathy could be rebranded as “Water”. As for pharmaceuticals, similarly self-explanatory names  would be much less confusing and scary than the long made-up words that drug companies tend to go for.

No-one need fear the nanobees. Except perhaps Nicolas Cage.