Cancer
“Cancer/kænsər/ known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighbouring tissues, and do not spread throughout the body.”
“Healthy cells control their own growth and will destroy themselves if they become unhealthy. Cell division is a complex process that is normally tightly regulated. Cancer occurs when problems in the genes of a cell prevent these controls from functioning properly. These problems may come from damage to the gene or may be inherited, and can be caused by various sources inside or outside of the cell. Faults in two types of genes are especially important: oncogenes, which drive the growth of cancer cells, and tumor suppressor genes, which prevent cancer from developing.”
Recent Journal Articles
Preparation and Characterization of Molecularly Imprinted Polymeric Nanoparticles for Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP)
( 4423–4429)Advanced Functional Materials 21 #23 (2011)
Wang et al of the University of South Florida and the VA Hospital, Florida, prepared the nanoparticles y precipitation polymerization using NH2–SLRRSS–CONH2, which is a short peptide from ANP, as a template, methacrylic acid and N-isopropylacrylamide as functional monomers, and bis-acrylamide as a crosslinker. The result is nanoparticles with a high affinity and selectivity for the cardiac hormone atrial natriuretic peptide and can be used as a synthetic antibody for modulating atrial natriuretic peptide - natriuretic peptide receptor A signaling in cancers. (RDC 12/6/2011)