Scientists Disarm Cancer Protein

Scientists believe they have found a way to neutralize a protein involved in cancer formation that was previously considered "undruggable." The researchers, experimenting on mice, created chemical "staples" to mold snippets of protein into shapes capable of disrupting the protein's function. The protein is linked to runaway cell growth in leukemia and other cancers, but it was disarmed by the stapled peptides in tests, and tumors receded.

The research is "very interesting," a cancer research expert told the BBC. "The new chemical has only been tested in mice so far, and so we don't know how it will behave in humans," he said. "But, long-term, it may lead to alternative drugs and better treatments for this kind of leukemia and maybe other cancers." (More cancer stories.)