How vitamin C stops the big"C"
An unexpected antioxidant mechanism is at play, researchers say
Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C - and potentially other antioxidants - can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors ? just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation.
Enzyme prime target for antibacterial and anticancer drugs
The veil has finally been lifted on an enzyme that is critical to the process of DNA transcription and replication, and is a prime target of antibacterial and anticancer drugs. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley have produced the first three-dimensional structural images of a DNA-bound Type II topoisomerase (topo II) that is responsible for untangling coiled strands of the chromosome during cell division.
Talcum powder stunts growth of lung tumors
Talcum powder has been used for generations to soothe babies' diaper rash and freshen women's faces. But University of Florida researchers report the household product has an additional healing power: The ability to stunt cancer growth by cutting the flow of blood to metastatic lung tumors.
Fungus compounds may slow prostate cancer
Resent research at the University of Haifa found that molecules found in common fungus Ganoderma lucidum aid in suppressing some of the mechanisms involved in the progression of prostate cancer. The main action of the fungus: disrupting androgen receptor activity and impeding the proliferation of cancerous cells.
Plant Constituent with Selective Effect on Cancer Cells
The substance wogonin triggers the death program apoptosis in tumor cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have discovered the molecular mechanism underlying this selectivity.