Friday, January 30, 2009

African Clawed Frogs May Help Find Cure for Skin Cancer

Filed under: in the news...

African clawed frog (Xenopus Laevis) sport unique melanophore (pigment cells) that slowly move across the skin of the animal. Scientists at the University of East Anglia discovered a compound that stops the movement of these cells. The finding is especially exciting because skin cancer is thought to spread essentially the same way that the spots on the frog move around.

Here's an audio interview with lead author of the study, Dr Grant Wheeler of UEA's School of Biological Sciences:

Press release: Skin colour studies on tadpoles leads to cancer advance

Abstract in Chemistry & Biology...

Image credit: post406

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