Canadian researchers say the brain’s glow can help detect cancer cells – CTV
November 06, 2025
Did you know your brain has a glow?
Researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. have built a helmet that measures light emissions from cancerous brain cells to diagnose the disease in its earliest stages.
Nirosha Murugan, research chair in the Faculty of Science, is targeting the roots of glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer that originates when glial cells, which are meant to support neurons, start dividing abnormally and grow into a tumour that kills neurons.
“The general gap that we have in cancer detection is that we’re completely reliant on biomolecules, genes and physical constructs,” Murugan said in an interview with CTV News.
With cancer detection top of mind, her team of researchers landed on using the light that our cells emit as a helpful tool.
“If we’re trying to look for a way to non-invasively detect brain cancer with one of the most common aggressive forms is glioblastoma, we kind of need to tease apart the signals,” explained Murugan, who is also an assistant professor of health sciences at the university. “Our goal is to understand what causes glial cells to lose their identity and behave abnormally, while also exploring ways to preserve the remaining neurons, as they are irreplaceable.”
