Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
What do a relatively unknown gene, a well-known signaling pathway and nuclear transport have in common? They’re all part of how diabetes and cancer drug metformin works. Metformin is a widely used type 2 diabetes drug that lowers glucose levels and sensitizes cells to insulin. Metformin’s mechanism has been long sought after, and studies into […]
Imagine a scenario where a patient comes into the clinic with a suspected cancer. The clinician not only confirms that the patient does indeed have cancer, but also identifies a specific gene abnormality that is driving the tumor. Without hesitating, the doctor prescribes a cancer drug that specifically targets the gene mutation responsible for the […]
What do faulty brakes on a car and cancer cells have in common? For one, cancer cells have found ways to evade checkpoints that the body’s cells use as brakes to stop them from dividing out of control. By this same analogy, the accelerator in a cancer cell is always pushed to the floor, and […]