Scientists working to better identify potential cancer drugsNovember 2, 2018 - 13:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A new way of identifying potential cancer drugs could streamline the development of therapies, following a discovery by scientists, News Medical says. Researchers have devised a way to screen potential drug compounds to select those that interfere with tumor cells in two ways. Their study seeks to build on an existing approach of identifying drugs that target an essential protein in cancer cells, known as telomerase. Scientists hope to identify drugs that not only inhibit this protein but also induce errors when cancer cells divide packages of their DNA - known as chromosomes - to form new cells. An attack on two fronts could prevent cancerous cells from growing, and therefore kill tumors. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh, the Institute Curie in Paris, the National Cancer Institute of the US and the Kazusa DNA Institute of Japan tested drug compounds using artificial human chromosomes with in-built fluorescent markers. This allowed the team to easily detect when and how often drug treatment caused the loss of chromosomes. Drugs identified in this way were then tested in different types of cancer cells, to investigate exactly how they were able to disrupt chromosome division at a high rate. Researchers hope these newly identified drugs can inform development of more effective therapies. The study, published in Cancer Research, was supported by Wellcome, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Government of Japan. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |