UBC graduate student finds a 'start/stop switch' for retroviruses
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - 20:14
in Biology & Nature
A University of British Columbia doctoral candidate has discovered a previously unknown mechanism for silencing retroviruses, segments of genetic material that can lead to fatal mutations in a cell's DNA. The findings, published today in the journal Nature, could lead to new cancer treatments that kill only tumour cells and leave healthy surrounding tissue unharmed.