Thanks for your question! From the lab I where I work at the moment, my colleagues have found a protein which cells in our body release to tell the immune system that they shouldn’t be attacked. It looks from my research that the same protein can be released from cancer cells in high amounts so they can look like normal cells and hide from the immune system.
In my previous lab my colleague and I discovered some genes which cancer cells can use to stop communication with the normal cells around them, so cancer cells can grow without being told to stop by their neighbours. I also discovered some genes which make people more likely to have type II diabetes, and some proteins which make insulin-making cells in the pancreas more resistant to stress.
When I was doing my master’s degree I found that some people from the Isle of Man may be descendants of Viking women
Great question! In my PhD project, I was able to identify the genetic mutations that caused disease in two patients (1 boy and 1 woman). They both had rare genetic disorders called ‘mitochondrial diseases’, where the energy-producing machinery of the cell was not functioning correctly. I used human cell lines (those that can be grown for a long time in a petri dish) and a mouse model (that copied the human disease) to discover exactly what was causing the problem in these patients. This info. helps their clinical team of nurses and doctors, but also helps the patients and their families understand what’s wrong. Lastly, it helps other scientists studying these diseases know what can cause them, which is really helpful long-term.
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Anabel commented on :
Great question! In my PhD project, I was able to identify the genetic mutations that caused disease in two patients (1 boy and 1 woman). They both had rare genetic disorders called ‘mitochondrial diseases’, where the energy-producing machinery of the cell was not functioning correctly. I used human cell lines (those that can be grown for a long time in a petri dish) and a mouse model (that copied the human disease) to discover exactly what was causing the problem in these patients. This info. helps their clinical team of nurses and doctors, but also helps the patients and their families understand what’s wrong. Lastly, it helps other scientists studying these diseases know what can cause them, which is really helpful long-term.