Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Fruit Flies Offer Gateway to Life
You thought fruit flies were merely pests did ye? Well stop slapping them dead! Science has just discovered this:Tumor-suppressor Gene In Fruit Flies
"UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers have discovered a tumor-suppressor gene that, in fruit flies, simultaneously restricts cell proliferation and promotes cell death, a process that may also play an important role in the genesis of cancer in humans...
..."We hypothesize that this protein (MST2) may be inactivated in some humans, causing the onset of tumor growth. Tumor suppression is important in humans because it is required to restrict abnormal growth of tissues," said Dr. Pan, the Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research...
..."Our findings will stimulate investigations of this tumor suppression pathway in human cancers," Pan added..."
Erm...
Dear Fruit Flies:
Please accept this letter as my humble apology for killing multitudes of your ancestors when I was young and stupid, living near an orchard. I promise to view you as the beautiful life giving insects you truly are.
Just please stop trying to fly into my eyes or mouth.
Yours truly,
New Admirerer
