Knowledge Diamonds: March 2008 Archives
Scientists have discovered a key part of the chemistry which makes cancer cells so dangerous.
They believe it could now be possible to tamper with the mechanism - and stop tumour growth in its tracks.
Harvard Medical School identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth.
Writing in Nature, they describe how starving cancer cells of the enzyme curbed their growth.
They believe it could now be possible to tamper with the mechanism - and stop tumour growth in its tracks.
Harvard Medical School identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth.
Writing in Nature, they describe how starving cancer cells of the enzyme curbed their growth.
Continue reading Tumour Growth Block Hopes Raised.
If civilization is wiped out on Earth, salvation may come from space. Plans are being drawn up for a “Doomsday ark” on the moon containing the essentials of life and civilisation, to be activated in the event of earth being devastated by a giant asteroid or nuclear war.Construction of a lunar information bank, discussed at a conference in Strasbourg last month, would provide survivors on Earth with a remote-access toolkit to rebuild the human race.
A basic version of the ark would contain hard discs holding information such as DNA sequences and instructions for metal smelting or planting crops. It would be buried in a vault just under the lunar surface and transmitters would send the data to heavily protected receivers on earth. If no receivers survived, the ark would continue transmitting the information until new ones could be built.
Continue reading Good One Nerds!.
Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.
In a series of experiments, St. Jude researchers found that if any one of three molecules is missing, certain cells lose the ability to protect themselves from apoptosis. A report on this work appears in the advance online publication of Nature.
"This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis," said James Ihle, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and chair of the St. Jude Department of Biochemistry. "It provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis."
In a series of experiments, St. Jude researchers found that if any one of three molecules is missing, certain cells lose the ability to protect themselves from apoptosis. A report on this work appears in the advance online publication of Nature.
"This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis," said James Ihle, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and chair of the St. Jude Department of Biochemistry. "It provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis."
Continue reading Key Step In Programmed Cell Death Discovered.
