Scientists at the Queen's University and the Belfast City Hospital believe that they have discovered a gene that protects women against ovarian cancer by regulating the growth and multiplication of cells. Dr Hillary Russell and colleagues think that women who develop the cancer either do not have this gene in the cells of their ovaries, or that it is damaged.
The discovery of the gene, which has taken three years, could open up new avenues for diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer, which is thought to affect 6,500 women each year in the UK alone.
Meanwhile, research published in The Lancet this week indicates why it is thought that people who smoke can be identified merely by looking at their faces. It has long been known that smoking prematurely ages the skin but the reason for this has remained elusive. Now scientists from Guys, Kings and St Thomas' school of medicine believe that chemicals in tobacco may activate a gene that expresses the protein matrix metalloproteinase-1, or MMP-1, in the skin. This breaks down collagen, a protein that maintains elasticity. Too much of this enzyme would increase wrinkling and the ageing effect.
Sources and References
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Why smokers' skin ages faster
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Doctors isolate gene for resisting ovarian cancer
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Health Warning: smoking does wrinkle the skin
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