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In addition to telomerase, some cancer cells become immortalised via the phenomenon known as ALT (“Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres”). A new paper published in Nature suggests that Zscan4, a gene essential for telomere maintenance in embryonic stem cells, may be the driver of the ALT mechanism.

To date, three of the thirteen OXPHOS genes still encoded in the mitochondria have been allotopically expressed (AE) in human cells with mutated versions of the same gene, thereby rescuing a respiratory defect. Now we have the first report of a new gene, COX2, being allotopically expressed in yeast, by mutating the gene to overcome the hydrophobicity of the mitochondrial membrane; a similar mutation has been shown to underlie the ability of the unusual case of the soybean COX2, which is a case of a native nuclear-encoded COX2 gene.

Intravenously delivered immunoglobulin G (IVIgG) is a mixture of antibodies extracted from human blood which has demonstrated promising preliminary results in clearing the beta-amyloid (Abeta) deposits that drive the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study compares multiple commercial sources of IVIgG and finds significant differences in their Abeta-binding activity, suggesting that results from impending clinical trials are likely to be highly dependent on the specific “brand” of IVIgG in use.