https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A team of researchers at the Sloan Kettering Institute working with a group at the American Museum of Natural History has found evidence of a change in human DNA after diverging from other primates that has made humans more susceptible to the development of cancerous tumors. In their paper published in the journal Cell Reports, the group compares human genes to those of other primates to learn more about why humans are more prone to developing cancer. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-evidence-dna-humans-susceptible-cancer.html Evolution Wed, 04 May 2022 10:10:01 EDT news570876957 The initials BRCA2 may be best known for a gene associated with many cases of breast cancer, and the protein encoded by the BRCA2 gene is critical to repairing breaks in DNA. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-brca2-protein-complex-important-dna.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 13 Aug 2021 12:28:29 EDT news548076505 Considered the most lethal form of DNA damage, double-strand breaks must be repaired to prevent cell death. In developing therapies for hard-to-treat breast and ovarian cancers in patients with BRCA gene mutations, scientists aim to identify ways to keep cancer cells from using DNA break repair pathways. New findings demonstrate a previously-unknown capability for polymerase theta (pol theta) - a key enzyme in this repair function—that shows promise as a new avenue for treatment development. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-never-before-seen-dual-function-enzyme-critical.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:00:03 EST news532249426 PARP inhibitors are recently developed drugs that have shown great promise against some types of ovarian, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer, but many patients' tumors develop resistance to the drugs. Now researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have reported a strategy for defeating such resistance and boosting the effectiveness of these drugs. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-discovery-effective-parp-inhibitor-drugs.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:21:40 EST news530270486