Breakdown of DNA in Cancer Cells

This article talks about researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and how they discovered why cells suffer from insufficient building blocks to support normal DNA replication, during the early stages of cancer development. DNA replication is the process of making an identical copy of a section of duplex (double-stranded) DNA, using existing DNA as a template for the synthesis of new DNA strands.

There is a possibility that cancer development can be ceased by externally supplying the building blocks of DNA. Thus, resulting in reduced DNA damage and significant lower potential of the cells to develop cancerous features. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem demonstrated that insufficient levels of the DNA building blocks (nucleotides) required to support normal DNA replication is caused by abnormal activation of cellular generation, which drives many different cancer types. By using laboratory cultures in which cancerous cells were introduced, the researchers were able to show that it is possible to reactivate normal DNA synthesis through external supply of those DNA building block. Thus, opposing the damage caused by the cancerous cells and the cancerous potential it may of caused.

Article:

Researchers Demonstrate Why DNA Breaks Down in Cancer Cells