'The Last of Us' zombie germ could actually save lives, says scientist

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things that cause illness fungi featured in apocalyptic tv series the last of us In a new study, scientists say it could lead to innovative cancer drugs.

In the dystopian world of the TV series, a heat-adapted version of cordyceps fungus take over humans and control them zombie.

In fact, caterpillar fungi may be able to save lives thanks to the presence of powerful chemicals such as: Prevent cancer cell growthsay scientists at the University of Nottingham.

They discovered that a chemical called cordycepin can interfere with cell growth signals, a discovery that could open up new possibilities. anticancer drug Less damage to healthy tissue.

This chemical is produced by the orange fungus Cordyceps military It infects and takes over the caterpillar.

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It has long been suspected that this compound could be turned into a powerful anti-cancer drug, but exactly how it worked was unclear.

In a new study published in the journal FEBS letterscientists measured the effects of cordycepin on the activity of thousands of genes in multiple cell lines.

They compared the effects of cordycepin with other treatments recorded in their database and found that in all cases cordycepin worked by acting on growth-inducing pathways in cells.

“Our data support cordycepin as a lead compound for anticancer drug development,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Cordycepin is converted to cordycepin triphosphate, which mimics the cellular energy carrier ATP. Cordycepin triphosphate affects cell growth, and researchers believe it may directly affect cancer cells.

Study co-author Cornelia de Moor said: “We have been studying the effects of cordycepin on a variety of diseases for years, and step by step we are learning more about how cordycepin can be used as an effective treatment. “We are getting closer to understanding whether it can be used.”

“One of the exciting things that's been happening is that it's become easier and cheaper to do these very large-scale experiments, so we can now test thousands of genes at the same time. That's what it means.

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The latest findings confirm that cordycepin could be a “good starting point” for new cancer drugs, researchers say.

“Derivatives of cordycepin could aim to generate the triphosphate form of the drug that would produce the same effect,” the researchers say.

This new study could also help monitor the effects of cordycepin in patients, as scientists now have data showing specific genes that respond to cordycepin.

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