Research on edge of life
Posted on: Tuesday, 17 June 2003, 06:00 CDT
RESEARCHERS in North Wales have launched a major study of the chemistry which makes life possible,and their findings could revolutionise medicine and medical science.
Focus of the probe at Bangor University is free radicals, explosive molecules - atoms joined together - which power the human body but which can also cause aging and disease.
The probe is being led by organic chemistry expert Dr Anna Croft,originally from Australia, whose team includes students from around Europe.
The team is using the latest technology to look deep into the heart of nature's most powerful chemical engine which drives biological processes at break-neck speed.
Dr Croft believes the implications of the research could be important for the way the medical world looks at the way free radicals contribute to brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.
"Without them much of life would end. For examples our bodies would be unable to produce DNA. They are created inside us to help neutralise viruses and bacteria" she said.
"Yet their very power makes them the molecular-level equivalent of TNT - so reactive, they can also destroy useful cells.
"When we consider free radicals can achieve chemical reactions in one quick step that takes scientists in the lab 10 steps and many days, to mimic their power becomes obvious. Harnessing that ability will revolutionise chemistry,and improve medical science for all of us."
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