Although there was no Nobel Prize for the discovery of the so-called gene scissors, Crispr-Cas9, this year either, the technology is already being used to the full in the research world. At Umeå University, for example, zebrafish is being researched to better understand prostate cancer in humans. The researchers have been able to map out how tumor cells are controlled by a protein called TRAF6 by genetically modifying the fish.
- For us, gene scissors have been a good tool for investigating at a detailed level the role of TRAF6, says Maréne Landström, professor of Pathology at Umeå University.
"Important puzzle piece"Probably Maréne Landström and her colleagues Jonas von Hofsten, Anders Bergh and Karthik Aripaka would not have been able to conduct their research without Crispr-Cas9, which made the genetic modification process much faster and cheaper. Now they hope that they will be able to take their research one step further and be able to find new knowledge that leads to medicines for prostate cancer.
- We hope so, this is an important puzzle piece to understand the mechanism of aggressive prostate cancer.
In the clip above you hear Maréne Landström on how they want to proceed with their research in order to be able to treat, for example, prostate cancer.