A hidden switch cancer cells use to build their growth proteins — and a new way to jam it

Some cancers survive by making extra copies of growth proteins such as KRAS, and researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found a hidden switch that helps them do it. An enzyme called METTL13 places a tiny chemical tag on one of the cell's protein-building machines, letting cancer cells read certain genetic instructions more efficiently and produce more of the proteins that drive tumour growth. Blocking that switch, the team reports in Nature Cell Biology, could one day help targeted therapies work better and slow resistance. The work is still at the laboratory stage — no patient treatment exists yet — but it names a precise place to aim.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation