2 ms·

metro.co.uk is the web site of a free commuter newspaper handled out in some cities in the UK. It probably wouldn't be my first choice for science news. Dr Sel

metro.co.uk is the web site of a free commuter newspaper handled out in some cities in the UK. It probably wouldn't be my first choice for science news. Dr Seluanov's bio [1] links to a number of papers, most of which appear to be cancer-related. There is a pubmed abstract and full text available for "Hypersensitivity to contact inhibition provides a clue to cancer resistance of naked mole-rat." [2]. Also the NYT has an article [3]. [1] http://www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/professors/seluanov http://www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/professors/seluanov [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19858485 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19858485 [3] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/science/a-homely-rodent-may-hold-cancer-fighting-clues.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/science/a-homely-rodent-ma...

masklinn 13y ago
As usual, Ed Yong has a good overview on NERS: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/19/why-naked-mole-rats-dont-get-cancer/ http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/19/why-naked... edit: I see the NYT article is by Carl Zimmer, so I can only recommend though I've yet to read it. Although > Hyaluronan probably isn’t the only way to fight off cancer. Blind mole rats (which, despite their name, are not close relatives of naked mole rats) rarely get cancer either. But the research Dr. Gorbunova and Dr. Seluanov have conducted on those rodents suggests that they fight cancer by sending a different signal to fast-growing cells, causing them to commit suicide. Dan Engber's wonderful 2011 Slate piece[0], linked by Yong, notes naked mole rats have perfectly functioning apoptosis processes: > A naked mole rat cell, they argued, is hypersensitive to crowds: The minute one of its cytoplasmic arms brushes up against a stranger, it stops dividing. A cell could be induced to overcome its shyness with the help of some cancer-causing proteins, and so emboldened it would grow out of control, like a tumor. But even then, a second line of defense would be activated: The cell would apoptose, or self-destruct. it's not clear whether Zimmer is talking about somehow extra-active apoptosis in blind mole rats, does anybody have precisions? [0] http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_mouse_trap/2011/11/naked_mole_rats_can_they_help_us_cure_cancer_.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_mouse_t...

masklinn 13y ago

As usual, Ed Yong has a good overview on NERS: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/19/why-naked-mole-rats-dont-get-cancer/ http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/19/why-naked... edit: I see the NYT article is by Carl Zimmer, so I can only recommend though I've yet to read it. Although > Hyaluronan probably isn’t the only way to fight off cancer. Blind mole rats (which, despite their name, are not close relatives of naked mole rats) rarely get cancer either. But the research Dr. Gorbunova and Dr. Seluanov have conducted on those rodents suggests that they fight cancer by sending a different signal to fast-growing cells, causing them to commit suicide. Dan Engber's wonderful 2011 Slate piece[0], linked by Yong, notes naked mole rats have perfectly functioning apoptosis processes: > A naked mole rat cell, they argued, is hypersensitive to crowds: The minute one of its cytoplasmic arms brushes up against a stranger, it stops dividing. A cell could be induced to overcome its shyness with the help of some cancer-causing proteins, and so emboldened it would grow out of control, like a tumor. But even then, a second line of defense would be activated: The cell would apoptose, or self-destruct. it's not clear whether Zimmer is talking about somehow extra-active apoptosis in blind mole rats, does anybody have precisions? [0] http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_mouse_trap/2011/11/naked_mole_rats_can_they_help_us_cure_cancer_.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_mouse_t...