Gene May 'Bypass' Disease-linked Mitochondrial Defects
Monday, May 11, 2009 - 19:21
in Biology & Nature
By lending them a gene normally reserved for other classes of animals, researchers have shown they can rescue flies from their Parkinson's-like symptoms, including movement defects and excess free radicals produced in power-generating cellular components called mitochondria. The gene swap also protects healthy flies' mitochondria, and to a large extent the flies themselves, from the damaging effects of cyanide and other toxins.
