In the late 1800s, at a time when people still traveled in horse-drawn carriages and lit homes with wax candles, scientists discovered nuclear power. They found curious elements, such as uranium and radium, which emit invisible rays of energy. They called this energy radiation.
When they noticed that radiation had the power to burn skin, they applied it to treat cancer. The benefits were evident, but it would take scientists decades to understand how to wield the energy that emerges from the core of these special atoms safely.
Now, a new form of nuclear medicine is on the …