Genetic Changes Outside Nuclear DNA Suspected To Trigger More Than Half Of All Cancers
Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 22:35
in Biology & Nature
A buildup of chemical bonds on certain cancer-promoting genes, a process known as hypermethylation, is widely known to render cells cancerous by disrupting biological brakes on runaway growth. Now, scientists say the reverse process -- demethylation -- which wipes off those chemical bonds may also trigger more than half of all cancers.