Word: molecular
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Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences Matthew S. Meselson has devoted his career to studying questions in molecular biology and fighting biological warfare...
...current research focuses on the mechanisms of molecular evolution, or more simply, why there are two sexes...
...that holds up," Meselson says, "we will test the molecular hypotheses for why sex exists...
Black is also working on an entirely different experiment for treating tumors. Cooperating with molecular biologist Habib Fakhrai, he is trying to enlist the patient's own immune system to attack brain cancers. Tumor cells produce a substance called TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta) that both fuels their own growth and tricks the immune system into ignoring their presence. Using genetic engineering, Fakhrai has come up with a genetic "switch," called TGF-beta antisense. When inserted into a tumor cell's genetic machinery, the antisense turns off the cell's ability to produce TGF-beta. Injected into patients, these...
...with the potential to be tested for efficacy in humans. Until recently, animal testing and clinical trials of a single drug required an average 12 years of research and cost up to $300 million. But initial screening can now be done in a matter of days without using animals. Molecular biologists are able to isolate enzymes that can trigger human diseases, then expose those enzymes to a plant's chemical compounds. If a plant extract blocks the action of a particular enzyme--say, one that promotes a skin inflammation--they know the plant has drug potential. By extracting specific chemicals...