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Next steps towards preventing cancer and Alzheimer’s

Dr loannis Nezis from the School of Life Sciences has led a research project investigating proteins needed for Autophagy – a process where a cell consumes and destroys parts of itself that are harmful or damaged to recreate a healthy cell.

Autophagy naturally declines as we age, meaning we’re less able to eject harmful infections and mutations, leaving us more prone to illnesses. Better understanding of the proteins could lead to the development of drugs that stop the decline, preventing major age-related conditions, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

So far Dr Nezis’ findings have identified over 700 previously undiscovered proteins, enabling researchers to experiment and find ways to activate autophagy inside human cells.

Read the full press release here.
Look at more research from the School of Life Sciences here.

Autophagy