By By Tim Sandle Nov 1, 2014 in Science Google is more commonly associated with the Internet and computing technologies. The tech company also has a health body, and it has announced it is developing a pill to detect cancer. According to Google: “Maybe there could be a test for the enzymes given off by arterial plaques that are about to rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke. Perhaps someone could develop a diagnostic for post-surgery or post-chemo cancer patients – that’s a lot of anxious people right there (note: we’d leave this ‘product development’ work to companies we’d license the tech to; they’d develop specific diagnostics and test them for efficacy and safety in clinical trials.” The basis of the pill is nanotechnology, Once a patient swallows a pill, the nanoparticles will seek to identify particular molecules that may signal that there is a potential health problem. If a health problem is detected, then the nanoparticles will send a signal to a detection device. The detection device can be worn by the patient (a new twist on the trend for wearable technology). The signal functions through the nanoparticles having magnetic cores. As well as acting as a receiver, the device can send signals to the Internet so that the data can be reviewed by a doctor. The pill project, Then foray into nanotechnology is just one part of Google’s planned expansion into the lucrative healthcare sector. The philosophy of Google is to develop technologies aimed at improving detection and health prevention, rather than on technologies used to treat people who are already ill. Google’s healthcare business goes under the operating name Calico. In related news, Google announced in the summer that it will collect samples of human tissue from thousands of people. This is part of an experiment that could help doctors to detect the earliest signs of cancer and other fatal diseases. The project has been dubbed the “baseline study.” The new pill designed to send microscopic particles into the bloodstream as a means to track down and to identify different cancers. The pill may also be able to assess the body for imminent heart attacks, and perhaps to detect other types of diseases.“Maybe there could be a test for the enzymes given off by arterial plaques that are about to rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke. Perhaps someone could develop a diagnostic for post-surgery or post-chemo cancer patients – that’s a lot of anxious people right there (note: we’d leave this ‘product development’ work to companies we’d license the tech to; they’d develop specific diagnostics and test them for efficacy and safety in clinical trials.”The basis of the pill is nanotechnology, according to Pharma File . The pill will use nanoparticles that combine a magnetic material with antibodies or proteins that can attach to and detect other molecules inside the body. Google's nanoparticles are less than one-thousandth the width of a red blood cell.Once a patient swallows a pill, the nanoparticles will seek to identify particular molecules that may signal that there is a potential health problem.If a health problem is detected, then the nanoparticles will send a signal to a detection device. The detection device can be worn by the patient (a new twist on the trend for wearable technology). The signal functions through the nanoparticles having magnetic cores. As well as acting as a receiver, the device can send signals to the Internet so that the data can be reviewed by a doctor.The pill project, ZDNet reports , is being led by Andrew Conrad who is the head of life sciences for the Google X research lab. The project is currently under the code name ‘Nanoparticle Platform’.Then foray into nanotechnology is just one part of Google’s planned expansion into the lucrative healthcare sector. The philosophy of Google is to develop technologies aimed at improving detection and health prevention, rather than on technologies used to treat people who are already ill. Google’s healthcare business goes under the operating name Calico.In related news, Google announced in the summer that it will collect samples of human tissue from thousands of people. This is part of an experiment that could help doctors to detect the earliest signs of cancer and other fatal diseases. The project has been dubbed the “baseline study.” More about Google, Cancer, Pill, tracer More news from Google Cancer Pill tracer