SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Aug. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Research Unit of the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital (Tenerife) has received recognition from the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) for the study it is carrying out on the relationship of a new protein in the regeneration of damaged DNA .
According to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, this unit brought this novelty to the ‘Genomic Organization and Stability’ congress organized by the CNIO, where numerous researchers from hospitals and research centers from around the world shared their studies related to the human genome .
In it, the researcher Sara Medina won an award for her communication in poster format on the progress of her research within the Genomic Instability and Cancer group, led by Dr. Félix Machín.
The line of study focuses on the damage suffered by the DNA of our cells and the importance of repairing this damage properly, since without correct repair mutations can occur that lead to the appearance of cancer.
The team has discovered a new protein located in the membrane of the nucleus of cells that is directly involved in the repair of damaged DNA, this regeneration capacity being reduced by up to 30% when this protein is missing.
For its part, the genome is the set of DNA found in the nucleus of the cells of living beings and contains all the information necessary for a person to grow and develop. Studying the genome helps researchers understand how these cells are formed and how they respond to different types of stimuli.
In addition, the investigation of its breakage and repair allows the creation of new treatments for diseases such as cancer.
This study is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain, in its ‘Knowledge Generation Projects’ programme, which aims to finance research projects aimed at both promoting the generation and significant advancement of scientific knowledge and research of proven quality as to advance towards the search for solutions to the challenges of society.