Cancer could be completely eradicated after a scientific breakthrough that kills a protein that causes the disease. A team of British scientists from the university of Dundee claims it had discovered a previously unattainable protein believed to initiate the illness. The group used molecules to target these proteins and bind them to a neutralising agent. Professor Alessio Ciulli at Dundee’s School of Life Sciences said: “Crucially, we have found that it is not enough for this neutralising protein to sit close to the bad protein. “We call this a ‘kiss of death’, as it is the key to ensure the degradation of the bad protein. “The major problem is that we have been unable to find the small molecules which can successfully bind to these proteins and at the same time hamper their function.
“It is a highly complex area as these proteins can often fool regulators within the cell and be extremely difficult to pin down with inhibitors.” Their paper was published in the journal Natural Chemical Biology.