Researched
Oncogenes
Bishop and Varmus showed in 1976 that a cancer-causing virus gene is a copy of a normal gene in our own cells: cancer is a disease of damaged genes.
Open in the interactive tree →The src gene of the Rous sarcoma virus has a normal counterpart in healthy cells, which earned Bishop and Varmus the 1989 Nobel Prize. Tumour-suppressor genes such as p53 followed, and mutated cancer genes became drug targets.
Prerequisites
- Viruses discovered1892-1898
- Structure of DNA1953
- Reverse transcriptase1970
Unlocks
- HPV vaccine2006
- Curing canceropenCancer as damaged genes underlies targeted drugs and the search for cures