Cancer vs. ageing
In damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t news: mice possessing a gene that helps rid them of cancer are found to age much faster than usual.
Scientists have long known that a gene called p53—identified as a tumour suppressor—is essential in regulating cell growth and thus preventing a normal bit of tissue from turning cancerous.
In many human cancer cases, p53 is damaged by mutation. While studying this phenomenon, U. S. researchers accidentally produced genetically engineered mice possessing a hyper-active version of p53.
The good news was that the mice lived a perfectly cancer-free existence, even after they were exposed to carcinogens. But the bad news was that Mickey and his pals didn’t stick around for long to enjoy it. The overactive p53 apparently ushered the engineered mice into old age at an accelerated pace.
Scientists think p53 helps an animal reach reproductive age by preventing deadly cancers. But once an animal gets older, the same mechanism may work to hasten it to an early grave.
Seaweed bug busters
Bacteria have a tendency to aggregate in planar colonies, called biofilms. Once they get together, the bugs can secrete a coat of sugar molecules that make them impervious to the immune system and antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis often kills because of these tough films, which clog victims’ lungs.
But a chemical that a type of seaweed uses to fend off bacterial attack may have potential to be used as a bug-busting drug in humans.
When forming a biofilm, bacteria send out chemical signals to locate each other. But a type of seaweed from Australia produces an organic chemical called furanone, which blocks the receptors on a bacteria’s surface that receive the chemical signal.
Scientists hope that a combined treatment of the furanone plus antibiotics will be helpful in treating deadly infections.
Researchers look towards biofilms to learn the mechanisms of how cells talk to each other.
