Chinese scientists have extracted a virus known as M1 that could kill cancer cells without harming normal cells, giving hope for future research and development of cancer therapies.

A research team led by Yan Guangmei, a professor from the Zhongshan School of Medicine under the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangdong Province, found the virus, extracted from a certain kind of mosquito in the tropical Hainan Province, can curb cancer cells' growth without damaging normal cells.

The discovery was published in the October edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Animal tests found that the M1 virus worked well on cancer cells of the liver, bladder, colon and rectum.

Cancer is a growing threat to health in China due to unhealthy lifestyles and a deteriorating environment. China reports 3.5 million new cases of cancer each year. And 2.5 million people, nearly the population of Kuwait, die of cancers each year in China.