Breast tissue architecture Studies into the natural breast remodelling that occurs during pregnancy, milk production and weaning have revealed a possible new target for breast cancer therapy. Dr Charles Streuli and colleagues at the University of Manchester have discovered that during breast development there are changes in the type of subunits present in a group of proteins called integrins, which act like velcro to maintain the scaffolding of breast tissue. One type of subunit plays a specific role in controlling cell growth in the mammary gland during puberty. Blocking its function could inhibit the ability of tumour cells to form metastatic outgrowths and become malignant.
Mussels attach themselves to rocks using a glue that outperforms all synthetic adhesives.
But it is prohibitively expensive to synthesise the protein chemically. Dr Simon McQueen-Mason of the University of York has developed a novel method for transferring the gene for the mussel protein into tobacco plants and producing the protein in an extractable form. In principle, this opens the way for larger scale biotechnological production. Proteins at interfaces Proteins have long been used in traditional foods as well as modern ones to stabilise so-called multiphase foods such as emulsions and foams so that the component phases do not separate. Scientists at the Institute of Food Research report on a new programme of research that is enabling them for the first time to relate key elements of a protein's structure to behaviour at the macroscopic scale.