BY TIM BONFIELD The Cincinnati Enquirer A study published
Tuesday involving University of Cincinnati researchers may help
advance anti-cancer treatments based on a concept called
"programmed cell death." Programmed cell death is a basic
function of normal cells. Previous research has found that
cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and other
diseases appear linked to malfunctions of the normal cell-death
process. Many doctors, however, have been concerned that
tinkering with such a basic cell process could have severe
consequences. The study, in Tuesday'sedition of Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, was led by Dr. Ming Xu, an
assistant professor of cell biology at UC. It also involved
researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The yearlong study,
completed in June, involved tracking mice that had been
genetically engineered to lack a key protein involved in
programmed cell death. After following three generations of the
"knoc