Men everywhere are going to love this one...
New research has found that applying physical pressure to a woman's breasts can prevent malignant cancer cells. To put it bluntly - squeezing your boobs may actually fight cancer.
Experiments have shown that the pressure can help guide cells back into a normal growth pattern, stopping the “out-of-control” growth of malignant cancer cells.
“People have known for centuries that physical force can influence our bodies,” said Gautham Venugopalan, a lead member on the research team from the University of California in Berkeley in a statement .
“When we lift weights, our muscles get bigger. The force of gravity is essential to keeping our bones strong. Here we show that physical force can play a role in the growth - and reversion - of cancer cells.”
Over the course of the study, researchers grew malignant breast cancer cells and placed them in silicone chambers. When those cells were compressed, they began to grow normally over time.
Venugopalan says that the malignant cells just needed "the right cues to guide them back to a healthy growth pattern."
But before you get too squeeze-happy, researchers also warned that these findings alone won't cure breast cancer.
“Compression, in and of itself, is not likely to be a therapy,” said Daniel Fletcher, professor of bioengineering at Berkeley in a statement. “But this does give us new clues to track down the molecules and structures that could eventually be targeted for therapies.”