In laboratories where chemistry meets biology, researchers have coaxed compounds from chia seeds into building nanoparticles capable of distinguishing cancer cells from healthy ones — a distinction that has long eluded medicine's blunter instruments. Published in Nature, the work describes nickel-doped zinc oxide structures, synthesized without harsh chemicals, that kill oral cancer cells selectively, dismantle bacterial biofilms, and silence the genes bacteria use to cause harm. The findings remain confined to the laboratory, but they represent a convergence of sustainable manufacturing and t