Understanding RAS Pathway (IMAGE)
Caption
Two Princeton University studies are opening important new windows into understanding an untreatable group of common genetic disorders known as RASopathies that affect approximately one child out of 1,000 and are characterized by distinct facial features, developmental delays, cognitive impairment and heart problems. The researchers observed in zebrafish and fruit fly embryos how cancer-related mutations in the RAS pathway -- a biochemical system cells use to transmit information from their exterior to their interior -- caused severe deformations. Fruit-fly embryos (above) showed how signals at the early stage of development (red in top photo) activate genes (purple in middle photo) and pattern structures in the fly larva (bottom photo.)
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(Photo courtesy of Stanislav Shvartsman, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering)
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