Small Molecules Can Starve Cancer Cells
Date: October 9, 2011
The basic summary of the article I read said that a certain molecule can help some types of cancer. It says that each cell in our body has a system that can handle cellular waste and help release some building blocks for recycling in the cells. According to research, cancer cells have increased the activity of this system and increased the growth rate of cancer cells. One of the professors, that has been helping with this research, has said they found a small molecule that that can block a self-eating mechanism in different cancer cells. The molecule they discovered is naturally found in our bodies and is known as microRNA-101. Scientist and Researchers are focusing on autophagy, a self-eating mechanism, and microRNA molecules that can sometimes control our genes. MicroRNA-101 is sometimes lost in certain cancers, such as liver cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. This molecule is very sensitive towards breast cancer.
The thing I found most interesting about this article was that after all the years of looking for a treatment to cure cancer they have come very close. This treatment can help cure certain types of cancer so people can stop being sick and dying. It took time for scientist to find something that worked more times than not. I found it interesting that the small molecule that can help get rid of cancer is something that is already in our bodies and we aren’t putting harmful chemicals into our body.