Researchers at Boise State University say they have used emerging nanotechnology techniques to devise a way to kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells healthy.

Biology professors say that many cancer drugs target rapidly dividing cells, but can leave people sick because the dose is also toxic to other cells in the body. But the group says its research has found that zinc-oxide nanoparticles can selectively kill cancer cells without harming normal cells.

The group described its work in a paper published in July in the journal Nanotechnology. The paper has become one of the most popular in the 58 journals published by the Institute of Physics, being downloaded more than 250 times in the first month of its publication. (AP)